A fourth suspect is in custody in connection with a shooting that left a 25-year-old man dead last year on an Allentown basketball court.
Angel Martinez-Velez, of Allentown, died of multiple gunshot wounds in the gunfire reported around 6:30 p.m. June 1, 2024, on the court at Fountain Park, 924 Martin Luther King Drive.
Joel Arturo Garcia-Paulino, 22, of Northampton, was seen on city surveillance cameras helping other suspects in the homicide remove items from cars shortly after the shooting, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said in a news release Friday.
Garcia-Paulino also is accused of having been present in an Allentown apartment where plans for the shooting were discussed.
The DA’s office obtained convictions against two more men identified as being present in the Allentown apartment and for their involvement in the killing:
Carlos Nathaniel Landesta-Agramonte, now 20, of Allentown, pleaded guilty last month to third-degree murder and conspiracy; a jury earlier this month convicted Grelvis Estevez Cabrera, now 29, of Bethlehem, of all charges, including homicide and conspiracy.
Estevez Cabrera faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole, Holihan’s office said. Both Landesta-Agramonte and Estevez Cabrera are scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 25 before Judge Thomas Caffrey in the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas.
Holihan and Allentown police in July arrested the additional suspect, 23-year-old Wilmer Esquiel Marte-Tavarez, of Lords Valley, Pennsylvania.
Garcia-Paulino and Marte-Tavarez are both charged with homicide, conspiracy and tampering with evidence.
Garcia-Paulino was arraigned Friday before District Judge Karen Devine. He and Marte-Tavarez are denied bail.
Investigators said Marte-Tavarez was identified on video surveillance footage taken shortly after the shooting as matching the description of the shooter. He is scheduled for formal arraignment Nov. 6 in Lehigh County Court.
Holihan said investigators also relied on license plate readers, social media sources, and input from witnesses and participation from the community in making the arrests.
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