ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Bethlehem man convicted in the 2024 deadly shooting on a basketball court at Fountain Park has been sentenced to life in prison without parole, officials said.
Grelvis Estevez Cabrera, 29, was convicted by a jury in October of all charges in the death of Angel Martinez-Velez, 25, of Allentown.
Grelvis Estevez Cabrera received the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.Lehigh County District Attorney's office release
Those charges included first-degree murder, homicide, conspiracy to commit first-degree homicide and tampering with evidence.
The sentencing was announced Tuesday in a news release from Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan.
Estevez Cabrera received the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, Holihan said.
He was sentenced to an additional 9 to 40 years for the conspiracy charge, and to probation for the remaining count.
Five men were charged in the June 1, 2024, killing at the park on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Other defendants were Alfeni Romero-Taveras, Joel Garcia Paulino and Wilmer Esquiel Marte-Tavarez, all of whom await trial.
Carlos Landesta-Agramonte also was charged and pleaded guilty in November to third-degree murder and conspiracy, and was sentenced to 20-40 years in state prison.
Account of the shooting
Holihan gave this account of the shooting:
About 6:30 p.m., Allentown police were called to a shooting on the basketball court at the park. Officers found Martinez-Velez with several gunshot wounds.
He died from multiple gunshot wounds and the Lehigh County Coroner ruled his death a homicide.
Witnesses described two gunmen, both wearing distinctive clothing and masks who fled in a dark-colored Honda Accord.
Authorities determined a second car also was in the area at the time of the murder.
Immediately after the shooting and 911 calls, Allentown city cameras recorded those two vehicles fleeing the park and appearing to travel together.
Police tracked the vehicles through the city on the camera system traveling together at a high speed.
By reviewing those cameras, investigators were able to identify the license plate of the Honda and saw a front-seat passenger wearing the same clothing described by the witnesses as one of the gunmen.
The second car, following close behind, was registered to Carlos Landesta-Agramonte, who lived at a home on East Court Street in Allentown.
Less than two hours after the killing, both cars were observed near the East Court Street home and those vehicles were seized pursuant to a search warrant.
Inside a vehicle, police found clothing and masks that matched the descriptions given by witnesses to the shooting.
This case was investigated by Allentown police Detective Theodore Kiskeravage and Lehigh County Homicide Task Force Detective Moses Miller.
The cases are being prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Ramma R. Mineo and First Assistant District Attorney Patricia Fuentes Mulqueen.
