Jury Found Defendant Guilty of Murder
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been
sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for stabbing a 41-year-old man in 2016.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant viciously swung the knife at the victim 13
times in a matter of 10 seconds, stabbing and slashing him several times. The victim leaves
behind a 9-year-old daughter.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Joseph Taveras, 30, of 906 Simpson Street, was
sentenced today by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy to 25 years to life in prison.
A jury found the defendant guilty of second-degree Murder on November 15, 2018.
According to the investigation, on the night of April 25, 2016, the defendant stabbed the
victim, Ricardo Romano, 41, of the Bronx, causing his death. The incident happened when
Romano stopped in front of the building the defendant lived in, which is located in the
neighborhood the victim previously resided. Romano was arguing loudly with an individual
who lived in the building when the defendant came out of the premises with a kitchen knife.
Taveras stabbed Romano twice in the chest, once in the arm and slashed him twice in the head.
The victim was taken to Lincoln Hospital where he died shortly afterwards.
The defendant was arrested on June 24, 2016.
District Attorney Clark thanked Cristina Fragola, Deputy Director of the Crime Victims Unit,
and NYPD Detective Gregory Casvikes of the 41st Precinct.
