An Allentown man has been acquitted on all charges in the fatal shootings of a 1-year-old boy and his grandmother more than two years ago in the city.
A Lehigh County jury on Friday found Gabriel Cartagena, 45, not guilty of homicide, aggravated assault and burglary in the 2023 shootings that killed Sebastian Serrano and Ada Ortiz, 44, and injured Ortiz’s husband, Leandro Ortiz.
The jury deliberated for several hours Friday afternoon and evening before the verdict was read around 6:30 p.m. Before the case went to the jury, the prosecution and defense presented their closing arguments Friday morning.
“We are disappointed in the verdict,” Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said in a statement Friday evening after the verdict was announced. “Our sympathy is with the family.”
Authorities never said what Cartagena’s motive for the shootings was, and Leandro Ortiz said he never saw Cartagena prior to the shootings.
Leandro Ortiz testified during Cartagena’s preliminary hearing nearly two years ago that he heard a knock at the door at their home in the 100 block of Chestnut Street the night of Dec. 29, 2023. Ada Ortiz opened the door, and Cartagena shot her and Sebastian with a semiautomatic handgun before trying to shoot one of their other grandchildren, according to testimony.
Leandro Ortiz pushed him out of the house, and was shot in the process, he testified. Ada Ortiz and Sebastian died at the home.
A major factor in the five-day trial, which started Monday, was the presence of DNA belonging to Cartagena on a cigarette butt found at the scene.
During the second day of trial Wednesday, Allentown Detective Theodore Kiskeravage, who filed the charges, testified that he took a DNA swab from Cartagena about two months after the killings.
Tyeisha Moore, a forensic biologist with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified that Cartagena’s DNA was found on the cigarette butt, along with at least one other person’s who was not identified.
However, Cartagena’s public defender, Kathryn Smith, asked if there were any way to determine when Cartagena touched it, or how his DNA got on the cigarette. Moore said her testing could not reveal that information.
Cartagena’s criminal history also includes a number of arrests for assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2006. In 2009, he was charged with the same firearm offenses as in the current case.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Reporter Christopher Dornblaser contributed to this report.