April 28, 2025
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace announced that Jare Diaz, 27, of White Plains, was sentenced Friday to 16 years to life in state prison for beating Otoniel Guzman-Desdicho to death in 2022.
Westchester County Court Judge Maurice Williams issued the sentence.
DA Cacace said: “Otoniel Guzman-Desdicho should still be alive today. Mr. Diaz’s depraved and unprovoked attack shattered a loving family, and I hope this significant sentence helps provide them with a measure of closure. I offer my thanks to the investigators and ADAs who brought about a just resolution of this case.”
On Nov. 26, 2022, at 11:30 p.m., Guzman-Desdicho, 38, was walking in White Plains when he encountered Diaz, whom he knew. After a brief conversation, Diaz launched an unprovoked attack on Guzman-Desdicho, punching and kicking him in the head over 30 times.
This attack left Guzman-Desdicho lifeless and unrecognizable on the pavement, only a few blocks from the Westchester County Court. He was soon transported to Westchester Medical Center, where he was declared brain dead.
The case was investigated by the White Plains Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Bureau Chief Daniel Flecha and Assistant District Attorney Brianna Ciuffi, of the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau.
