ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Three men have been charged with a homicide that occurred in Allentown on monday night, District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca announced.
According to officials, the defendants are biological brothers who are all charged in connection with the killing, which occurred around 5:12 p.m. in the 700 block of North Ninth Street.
21-year-old Amiliano Escobar-Adorno, of Allentown, is charged with felony counts of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and other related charges, a news release says.
According to the release, Escobar-Adorno is in custody and is being held in Lehigh County Jail without bail.
28-year-old Julian Nathaniel Espada and 29-year-old Julius Jose Cortijo, of Allentown, are charged with felony counts of aggravated assault, attempts to cause serious bodily injury with extreme indifference, causing injury with a deadly weapon, and other related charges, the release says.
All three men are also charged with felony Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Assault, DA Holihan says.
Espada and Cortijo are both being held in Lehigh County Jail. Espada’s bail is set at $500,000 cash, and Cortijo’s bail is set at $250,000 cash. Both men are scheduled for preliminary hearings at 1:15 p.m. on Nov. 10, the DA says.
According to the news release, on the evening of Nov. 2, Allentown Police received numerous 911 calls about the shooting, which occurred in the middle of North Ninth Street near Tilghman Street.
When officers arrived, they say they found the victim, who has been identified as 29-year-old Jose Rivera, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Rivera later died from his injuries at the hospital, officials confirm.
Rivera died from a gunshot wound to the torso, and his death was ruled a homicide by Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio.
According to DA Holihan, before the shooting, Rivera was involved in an argument with the three men charged. The fight was captured on several nearby surveillance cameras.
The incident began around 5 p.m. when a woman was driving on North Ninth Street and saw her front bumper, which had been stolen two days earlier, located on a vehicle parked in the area.
She told police that she recognized her bumper due to distinct markings.
When the woman saw her bumper located on another car, she called Espada and told him she had found the stolen part.
Espada arrived at the scene and removed the bumper from the parked car. As he was removing the part, the news release says Rivera exited his residence and confronted Espada and the woman.
Rivera claimed the bumper belonged to him and took the part from Espada’s hands, DA Holihan says.
Espada’s two other brothers then arrived at the scene to confront Rivera about the stolen car bumper. After their arrival, Espada and Cortijo got into a physical fight with Rivera, officials say.
According to the news release, the investigation revealed that Escobar-Adorno was armed with a handgun and shot the victim during the fight. All three defendants then fled the area.
DA Holihan says that Espada was located within hours of the shooting and taken into custody without incident.
Cortijo was identified and located the afternoon after the shooting and taken into custody without incident, the release explains.
Escobar-Adorno was identified as the third suspect and was located late Tuesday evening and taken into custody, officials confirm.
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