ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Pike County man will face homicide charges alongside two men from the Lehigh Valley in connection with a fatal shooting last year in Allentown.
Wilmer Esequiel Marte-Tavarez, 22, of Lords Valley, was arrested Friday and charged with homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide and tampering with evidence, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.
Marte-Tavarez and two others are accused of fatally shooting Angel Martinez-Velez, 25, of Allentown, on June 1, 2024, on the basketball court at Fountain Park.
"Police used surveillance cameras and license-plate readers to track two vehicles that fled the park to a defendant's home on East Court Street within hours of the shooting."Lehigh County District Attorney's Office
Grelvis Estevez Cabrera, 28, of Bethlehem, and Carlos Nathaniel Landesta-Agramonte, 19, of Allentown, were charged days later after turning themselves in to authorities.
Police used surveillance cameras and license-plate readers to track, within hours of the shooting, two vehicles that fled the park to Landesta-Agramonte’s home on East Court Street, the district attorney’s office said in a news release.
Landesta-Agramonte and Cabrera were linked to one vehicle.
Surveillance footage showed a third person — identified as the shooter — removing items from the other car; police obtained fingerprint evidence from the vehicle that linked Marte-Tavarez to the shooting, according to authorities.
Marte-Tavarez on Monday was in Lehigh County Jail without the possibility of bail. Cabrera and Landesta-Agramonte are awaiting trial.
