A 33-year-old who fatally stabbed a man near Drake Park in 2015 was sentenced today to 12 years in state prison after siblings of the victim called for justice.

Twenty-two-year-old Jesus Pimentel had a “great future ahead of him,” one of his sisters wrote in a letter read by Deputy District Attorney Marlon Duke Powers at the sentencing hearing.

Pimentel’s young son, who asks where Pimentel is now, “has to grow up without a father,” the letter said.

“My brother needs to have justice,” Lizeth Pimentel wrote.

The killer, Elmer Leonardo Orellana, 33, of Long Beach, was convicted earlier this month of voluntary manslaughter for the Oct. 25, 2015, slaying of Pimentel, who was from Long Beach.

Jurors acquitted Orellana of the more serious charge of murder, along with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from two alleged run-ins unrelated to the killing. During the trial, Orellana’s attorney raised questions of self-defense in the stabbing.

Pimentel, stabbed once in the chest, was found in the 1000 block of Maine Avenue. He died that night at a hospital.

The judge noted that Orellana fled from the scene, attempted to alter his appearance and tried to minimize his involvement in the crime.

Orellana was arrested that night and has remained behind bars since then.

Another of the victim’s sisters, Rosita, wrote a letter saying her brother’s death had left behind broken hearts.

“At times, I can’t seem to stop crying,” she said.

Authorities have not conclusively determined a motive for the attack according to the prosecutor.

Investigators linked Orellana to DNA found on the handle of the knife used in the killing, located nearby, the deputy district attorney said.

Jeremiah Dobruck contributed to this story.