On Wednesday, amateur boxer and Long Beach resident Edgardo Pina, 22, was sentenced to four years in county jail for beating his girlfriend multiple times, the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office announced.
According to the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office, Pina struck his girlfriend on at least three separate occasions, even leaving her with a severe black eye after his case was filed with the Prosecutor’s Office.
“This is a serious case,” said City Prosecutor Doug Haubert in a statement. “The jury heard evidence that Pina repeatedly hit his girlfriend with his fists, and he said he’d kill her mother and chop up her brothers. There was a very real threat of continued violence if we didn’t do something.”
Pina was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Halim Dhanidina after two days of testimony and one day of deliberation at the Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach.
Besides beating his girlfriend after his case was filed, evidence showed that Pina also pressured his girlfriend to write a letter denying his beating of her, asking her to claim she had in fact injured herself. He said if she did this, she would avoid criminal charges, according to the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Pina denied under oath that any of the incidents took place. Dhanidina noted that lying under oath comes with consequences as he delivered the maximum sentence for Pina’s misdemeanor domestic violence charges. Meanwhile, Dhanidina also issued a 10-year protective order, prohibiting Pina from contacting the victim.
“The jury focused on the evidence and came to the right conclusion to hold the defendant accountable for his actions,” said Long Beach City Prosecutor Pooja Kumar.