JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey man has admitted he smoked marijuana and drank before tossing lit matches in an apartment that sparked a fire which killed an infant and damaged dozens of buildings.
Twenty-one-year-old Edwin Diaz on Wednesday pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter.
Diaz said he was in the Union City apartment with the father of 1-year-old Eddie Gonzalez Jr. in March and they were lighting matches and tossing them on a cousin who was sleeping on a couch. The cousin would wake and flick the matches away.
Diaz says he and the child’s father were smoking marijuana in a bathroom when the fire broke out.
The child died. His father, Eddie Gonzalez Sr., sustained burns.
Under terms of a plea agreement, Diaz will testify against the father. He’s charged with manslaughter.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.