A sixth person has been charged in a shooting that left a man dead nearly two years ago at a park in Allentown.
Jose Batista-Gabin, 23, of Bronx, New York, was arrested over the weekend in the June 1, 2024, shooting of Angel Martinez-Velez at the city’s Fountain Park, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said Monday in a news release. Batista-Gabin is in custody in New York and is awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania.
He faces charges of homicide, conspiracy to commit to commit homicide, and tampering of evidence.
Martinez-Velez, 25, was shot while playing basketball at the park on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. In the nearly two years since the killing, five people have been charged, some of whom have pleaded or been convicted in his death.
In addition to Batista-Gabin, the others charged in the case are Grelvis Estevez Cabrera, 29, of Bethlehem; Alfeni Romero-Taveras, 23, of Allentown; Joel Garcia Paulino, 23, of Allentown; Wilmer Marte-Tavarez, 23, of Lords Valley, Pike County; and Carlos Landesta-Agramonte, 20, of Allentown.
Martinez-Velez was shot about 6:30 p.m. at the park, which was crowded with adults and children, the DA’s office said. City cameras captured two vehicles fleeing the park and traveling together. Two gunmen wearing masks were seen fleeing in a dark-colored vehicle, authorities said.
Video surveillance from homes and businesses showed Batista-Gabin and the other defendants in the vehicles less than two hours after the shooting, the DA’s office said. They were moving clothing, masks and other items that witnesses saw after the shooting, the release states.
Romero-Taveras, Garcia Paulino and Marte-Tavarez are awaiting trial.
Estevez Cabrera was convicted in October on all charges, and was sentenced in January to life in prison. Landesta-Agramonte pleaded guilty in September to third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit that offense. He was sentenced in November to 20 to 40 years in prison.