Resident’s ‘misassumption’ sparked ‘tragic’ fatal shooting in Allentown: DA

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown resident’s “apparent misassumption” sparked a fatal shooting last month that left him and another man dead, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said Tuesday.

Alexander Perez-Sotomayor, 42, and Yovanni Suazo, 21, shot and killed each other during the early hours of March 24, officials said.

• Two people were shot and killed March 24 after an Allentown resident confronted men he thought were breaking into vehicles
• Details of an in-depth investigation released Tuesday showed “no indication” the men were trying to get into parked cars before the shooting
• Yovanni Suazo, 21, and resident Alexander Perez-Sotomayor, 42, killed each other in the shooting, authorities said

A preliminary investigation indicated Perez-Sotomayor and a neighbor confronted Suazo and another person because they were trying to break into vehicles parked in the 100 Block of East South Street, the Allentown Police Department said.

But a full investigation did not back up those initial reports, Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca and Martin announced Tuesday.

Roca and Martin said their offices conducted an in-depth investigation that included witness interviews, multiple search warrants and “numerous video recordings” taken before and during the shooting.

“There was no indication that either Mr. Suazo or his companion were breaking or attempting to get access to vehicles” before the shooting, Martin told LehighValleyNews.com.

“It was an apparent misassumption on the part of Mr. Perez-Sotomayor and his neighbor that that was occurring,” Martin said. “And that’s, of course, tragic in the sense that this whole thing could have been avoided, but for the fact that that was what they assumed to be happening.”

‘Police should handle’ crimes

Roca told LehighValleyNews.com on March 24 that residents’ “safety is always paramount,” but he stopped short of saying residents should not intervene when they see a crime happening.

“Residents can get involved by providing information to police if they observe crime” or suspicious activity, Roca said Tuesday, adding he would “encourage folks to be observant and to report concerns” to 911, the Allentown Police Department’s non-emergency number — 610-437-7751 — or the Tip411 app.

“I want to make sure that residents are safe and can relay any concerns appropriately,” Roca said. But the police chief did not respond Tuesday to a question about whether residents should refrain from getting involved in potential crimes until officers arrive.

Martin made it clear Tuesday he believes residents should leave policing to officers.

“That would be an excellent idea, in my opinion,” Martin said.

Residents who think they see a crime occurring “should report it immediately to the police and the police should handle it,” Martin said, calling that “the safest, most prudent way” for residents to help officers.

“Unless [their] home has been broken into, there’s no reason” for residents to insert themselves into situations best handled by police, he said.

“The loss of personal property — whatever is in a vehicle or the vehicle itself — pales in comparison to the loss of life,” Martin said.

Deadly confrontation

Allentown police say they were called about 1:21 a.m. March 24 to the 100 Block of East South Street, where officers saw two men who had been shot.

Officers found Suazo on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound to his throat, while Perez-Sotomayor, who was shot multiple times, was laying between several vehicles in the street, authorities said.

Police provided First Aid, but both men were pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio ruled both deaths were homicides.

Officers found a 9mm handgun near Suazo that had one round left in the chamber, while a .40-caliber Glock found near Perez-Sotomayor only fired once before jamming, authorities said.

The Allentown Police Department said on the day of the shooting that its preliminary investigation showed Perez-Sotomayor confronted Suazo and another person because he thought they were trying to break into vehicles.

Details of the full investigation released Tuesday revealed Perez-Sotomayor called his neighbor just before the shooting March 24 to say he thought Suazo and another man were trying to break into cars.

Perez-Sotomayor grabbed his gun and met up with his neighbor — who was carrying a metal pipe — to confront Suazo and the other man, authorities said.

As the neighbor told the men to leave the area, Perez-Sotomayor approached them from behind and told them to empty their pockets, sparking a “brief altercation,” according to the release.

Suazo then shot Perez-Sotomayor several times, while Perez-Sotomayor shot Suazo once, authorities said.

Video footage from cameras in the neighborhood showed the confrontation and fatal shooting, but “nothing on the video evidence substantiated the claims that Mr. Suazo was attempting to gain access to vehicles on the street,” authorities said.

Neither Perez-Sotomayor’s neighbor nor the man who was with Suazo were named by authorities because they are not facing criminal charges.

The investigation showed neither “fired any shots or participated in the shooting in any way,” authorities said.

“As it appears that Mr. Suazo and Mr. Perez-Sotomayor were the only shooters and shot each other to death, no criminal charges will be filed as a result of this very unfortunate incident,” Roca and Martin said.

The Allentown Police Department and Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday they’ve closed their investigations into the fatal shooting.