A McAllen man pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Monday for a 2016 bar fight that left a 53-year-old man dead.
Humberto Ramirez Sanchez, 40, had initially been facing a murder charge, but instead pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and received 10 years deferred adjudication.
The judgment includes a decade of community supervision. Should Sanchez violate any of the conditions of his community supervision, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
Sanchez was charged alongside 29-year-old McAllen resident Kevin Bustamante Pineda for fighting Anastacio Calderon Ramirez on Oct. 8, 2016. The fatal brawl happened inside the 23rd’s Bar and Grill in the 3600 block of 23rd Street.
“Mr. Ramirez confronted Kevin (Pineda) who reacted by punching (Ramirez) in the face, which caused him to fall to the ground and land on his back,” a probable cause affidavit stated. An employee at the bar and Pineda’s mother pushed her son away from Ramirez and drove Pineda home after he punched the man, according to the probable cause affidavit.
That document said Pineda’s mom went back to the bar and found Ramirez there. He was bleeding from his nose and didn’t look well, so she drove him to the hospital.
The affidavit does not describe the nature of her relationship to Ramirez.
The document also said another person saw Ramirez at the bar at about 2:30 a.m. He was on a couch with a swollen face and was snoring and gasping for air.
Pineda told investigators he punched Ramirez in self defense and said Sanchez kicked Ramirez on the head after the initial punch.
Pineda, who was also initially charged with murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Sept. 16, 2019, and is serving 15 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
He is eligible for parole in 2027.
