ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A fifth person has been charged in a 2024 Allentown homicide that happened at Fountain Park.
On June 1st 2024, the basketball court at Fountain Park turned into the scene of a deadly shooting. Now, prosecutors say they’ve charged the man who pulled the trigger.
“At this point in the investigation, it appears that the victim was individually targeted, that it was not random and that they were not there to do anything other than try to kill that one victim,” Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan says.
Alfeni Romero-Taveras of Allentown is charged with felony counts of Criminal Homicide, Conspiracy- Criminal Homicide and a misdemeanor charge of Tampering with Evidence, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.
Officials say that Romero-Tavares was charged on Friday, Oct. 24 and is in Lehigh County Jail without bail.
Romero-Tavares is the fifth person to be charged in the killing of 25-year-old Angel Martinez-Velez that occurred June 1, 2024 at Fountain Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, according to the press release.
The investigation revealed Romero-Tavares is the gunman who killed Martinez-Velez, officials say.
“We had witnesses at the scene who described two people shooting, but the forensic evidence that was recovered indicated that only one person actually fired the gun.” DA Holihan explains.
Investigators say surveillance cameras tracked two cars fleeing the park after the shooting.
“City of Allentown detectives working with license plate readers, city cameras, and other cameras were able to track those two cars to a central location where they then observed people moving property that had been caught on video, exchanging cell phones, guns, changing clothes,” Holihan says. “All of that had been recorded on a couple of different videos.”
In a news release, the DA says a witness identified Romero-Taveras as one of the shooters, and that DNA found on clothing in the cars linked him to the scene.
“The DNA was very helpful in identifying who the individual people were and what their role in the incident was because we were able to track who was wearing what clothes and where they were seated in the vehicle so we could track that DNA to individual actors based on what we were able to capture on video,” DA Holihan says.
Romero-Taveras is now the fifth person charged in connection with the killing.
One man connected to the shooting, Grelvis Estevez Cabrera, was convicted of first-degree murder earlier this month. Another, Landesta Agramonte, pleaded guilty to third degree murder, and two others allegedly involved are awaiting trial.
Romero-Taveras is being held in Lehigh County Jail without bail.
“The investigation continues even after that point in time,” DA Holihan added. “So, as more people came forward, more evidence became available, we got a more clear picture of everyone who was involved.”
Connect with Us:
Want to Share Something with Our Team?