JERSEY CITY -- A Union City man admitted Wednesday that he smoked marijuana and drank as he tossed lit matches inside the apartment where a deadly fire erupted earlier this year.
The March 4 fire claimed the life 1-year-old Eddie Gonzalez Jr., left 20 surrounding apartments damaged or destroyed, and heavily damaged the 119-year-old Saints Joseph and Michael Church a block away.
Edwin Diaz, 21, said Wednesday in court that on March 4 he was in the apartment at 1404 Summit Ave in Union City with the victim's father, Eddie Gonzalez Sr., 27, who was lighting matches and tossing them on a relative as he slept on the couch.
Diaz said he also lit a match and ignited a piece of paper on the cousin, who would wake and flick off the burning items. In the next room, Eddie Gonzalez Jr., 1, slept with his mother.
In court, Diaz needed a moment to choke back his emotions before saying what led to the child's death.
"After that, we went into the bathroom to smoke (more) marijuana and that's when all this happened," Diaz said before Hudson County Superior Court Judge John Young.
Diaz pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter in the third degree, for which the state is recommending a three-year prison sentence. He faced up to 10 years on the charge if convicted at trial. According to the terms of the plea, Diaz must testify against his Gonzalez, who was indicted on manslaughter and other charges several months after the fire.
The boy's mother Aaliyah Mercado, and his 5-month-old sister, both used the fire escape and got out of the building unharmed. The father suffered burns and was hospitalized in critical condition but released in time for his son's wake.
Diaz also admitted that while Gonzalez was hospitalized they hatched a plan to lie about what happened. Diaz said he stuck to the bogus story the first time he was interviewed by investigators but told the truth during a second interview.
The fire in the apartment started on the couch on which the victim's cousin had been sleeping, an official said. Diaz said the only source of fire that day was the matches he and Gonzalez had been lighting.
Both defendants turned themselves about a month after the fire after being charged by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office. Diaz is set to be sentenced by Young on Nov. 10 in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City. The victim's mother was in court Wednesday but she did not want to comment.
Defense attorney Gilbert Garcia represented Diaz. The state was represented by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Keith Travers.