Two men charged in the shooting death of a man outside an Allentown supermarket nearly three years ago were found not guilty last week in Lehigh County Court.
Following a five-day trial, Adalberto Morales Ortiz, 48, of Bethlehem and his nephew, Axel Gadiel Fontanez-Morales, 24, of Whitehall Township, both were acquitted March 13 of homicide in the May 14, 2023, killing of Jose Tirado-Ramirez. Attorneys for the men contended that they acted in self-defense during the shooting that happened outside the C-Town Market on Tilghman Street.
“The jury looked at this case and saw that Adalberto and his nephew were the people who were the true victims in this case,” Morales-Ortiz’s attorney, Stephen Patrizio, said Thursday. “Justice was done by this jury.”
Jose Tirado-Ramirez’s sister, Nashaly Tirado, told The Morning Call she was devastated at the outcome.
“I am 100% sure that justice wasn’t done the right way,” she said. “Hopefully Axel and his uncle will realize what they have done and that they will have to live with that guilt for the rest of their life.”
Allentown detectives alleged Tirado-Ramirez, 27, drove to the parking lot that night and spoke to a group of people there, including Fontanez-Morales. As he was leaving the group, Morales-Ortiz approached him and pointed a gun at him, police said. Tirado-Ramirez tried to take the gun, and Morales-Ortiz fired several times at him, charging documents alleged. Police said Fontanez-Morales also shot at Tirado-Ramirez.
Attorneys for both men wrote in court filings that Tirado-Ramirez’s death was caused by a chaotic shootout between about a half dozen people, and that neither of the men fired first. Additionally, they said Tirado-Ramirez was among the aggressors in the case, claiming he was accompanied by a group wearing masks and threatening a member of the defendants’ family.
Fontanzez-Morales’ attorney Paul Bender said Fontanez-Morales was at a garage nearby, and he was walking with his cousin when they encountered a group of people who had a problem with his cousin. That turned into a scuffle, which led to a group of masked people coming and escalating the situation, Bender said.
“Nobody needed to die that night,” he said.
Their attorneys said at least seven guns were involved in the shootout, and that Tirado-Ramirez fired a gun during the incident. Officers testified during a preliminary hearing that others on scene did not cooperate with the investigation and did not speak with authorities willingly.
Patrizio said Morales Ortiz went to the scene to check up on his son and did not know anything about what was going on.
“He ended up having to protect and defend his family,” he said.
He said jurors saw the case “for what it really was,” and that the real perpetrators were armed and masked. They came organized to kill, Patrizio said.
The two men were arrested shortly after the shooting and remained jailed without bail until September 2024, when a judge reduced bail at their attorneys’ request. Fontanez-Morales had been under house arrest since then.
Bender said the arrest was a “miscarriage of justice,” and that the men were charged “hastily.”
“[Fontanez-Morales] is thrilled to have this whole incident in his rear-view,” he said.
Patrizio said Morales Ortiz is a good family man who is relieved he can return to the community with his reputation intact.
Tirado believed her brother was trying to help, and was caught in the crossfire. She said he was a “great, loving person” who died because of a heated argument that he did not have control over.
“No matter what, my brother Miguelito will still be loved and remember as the loving, caring person he was,” she said.
Reporter Lindsay Weber contributed to this report.