FARMINGTON – A Farmington man convicted in a fatal 2018 stabbing has been sentenced to 18 ½ years in prison.
Prosecutors say Ronnie Garcia was convicted of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
Garcia was accused of killing 24-year-old Dion DeBarry of Farmington near a gas station in October 2018.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that a female witness told authorities the two men were in a verbal argument that escalated into a physical fight.
Authorities say Garcia stabbed DeBarry in the chest once with a knife.
DeBarry was found unresponsive at the scene and died from his injuries at a hospital.
Garcia got the maximum sentence for each conviction with 15 years for murder, along with one year and six months for tampering with evidence.
Garcia’s attorney sought a sentence of six years with 10 years suspended and the sentences for the two convictions to run concurrently.
But Garcia will serve the murder sentence, then the tampering with evidence sentence.
