A Long Beach man convicted of killing a man with a screwdriver in a case of mistaken identity was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years to life in state prison.

Arturo Ruiz Torres, 34, was convicted Dec. 22 of second-degree murder for Anthony Ramirez’s stabbing death.

Jurors also found true an allegation that a screwdriver was used as a deadly weapon.

Torres wrongly believed that Ramirez — who was riding his bicycle nearby — was the man who had yelled racial slurs at him Nov. 3, 2013, according to trial testimony.

Torres stabbed Ramirez with a screwdriver, then fled the area while the 50-year-old victim died at the scene, according to Deputy District Attorney Lindsay Kurtis.

Torres was arrested six days later by Long Beach police. He has remained in jail since then.

— City News Service

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