Sosa
GOSHEN – A Middletown man was sentenced by Orange County Court Judge Robert Freehill on Tuesday to 2 ½ to seven years in state prison in connection with the beating death of a man near railroad tracks in downtown Middletown September 3, 2017.
Primitivo Sosa, 28, pled guilty to manslaughter in January.
Sosa admitted that at about 6:30 a.m. on September 3, he was at a railroad right-of-way near Low Avenue in Middletown and that he struck a man he knew had serious medical issues several times in the head with his fist. The victim, 31-year-old Celso Jimenez-Lucero of Middletown died the next day at Orange Regional Medical Center. Sosa was arrested on September 5 by Middletown City Police.
Investigation revealed that Sosa and others at the railroad right-of-way had been drinking at the time of the incident. When sentenced, Sosa said he would seek treatment for alcoholism.
“Violence has no place in our communities,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “Those who resort to violence to settle disputes, even if they do not use weapons, must be held accountable for their actions.”
The DA said that although Sosa did not intend to kill Jimenez-Lucero, he knew he was beating a man with serious medical issues.” Hoovler said he hopes Sosa’s alcoholism is addressed white he is in prison and afterwards.
