Photo: Montgomery County Police
A man in Maryland has been convicted of murder in the death of another man apparently dating his ex-girlfriend.
Kasaka allegedly stalked his ex-girlfriend through social media in June 2020 and sent threatening messages to her and Ruiz before stabbing the latter in the heart after tracking them outside of her apartment, according to theWashington Post,DailyMail, and local news outletMontgomery County Media.
“Denzel Kasaka is a threat to the safety of the community and the state intends to seek the maximum sentence of 40 years in prison,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in an official statementas he declared the jury’s decision, according to theWashington Postand Montgomery County Media.
Meanwhile, Kasaka’s defense attorneys Steve Chaikin and Jeffrey Zahler argued their client was acting in self-defense. “He was defending himself. In the worst case, he would have been found responsible for manslaughter,” Chaikin said after the jury’s decision, theWashington Postreported.
“My client was pushed chased and thrown to the ground, and he had the window of his car smashed. Both of these young men were not happy,” the defense attorney tells PEOPLE in a statement, calling it, “a tragedy for everybody involved.”
On June 14, 2020, Kasaka allegedly sent threatening messages to Ruiz and his ex-girlfriend, including one that said, “‘it’s not gonna end well,” theWashington PostandDailyMailreported.
Once back, Kasaka was waiting in the parking lot and ended up getting into a physical fight with Ruiz, ending in the latter being stabbed “twice in the abdomen area” and one landing “directly to the heart,” according to theWashington Post’s court docs.
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Kasaka turned himself in two days after the incident, multiple outlets confirmed.
The suspect’s lawyer Chaikin tells PEOPLE that following Wednesday’s conviction he will fight to appeal the decision and seek lesser charges of self-defense.
Kasaka is due to appear in court on Feb. 18, 2022, for his sentencing, court records show.
“Now that he has passed away, of course, there is emptiness, pain, and confusion. But in many ways, the gift of Jose’s life is still here with us,” the family shared. “He lives on in our memories and stories, and in what all of us have because of him as long as we continue to share - today, tomorrow and in the years to come - our memories and stories, and to share the pain of our loss as well. In this way we will keep the gift of Jose’s life alive.”
source: people.com
