Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced Wednesday that Yandie Martinez, 20, of Garnerville, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree in connection with the deadly 2024 shooting of Christian Alvarado in Haverstraw.
Martinez entered the guilty plea on Wednesday, September 23, before Rockland County Court Judge Kevin F. Russo. Under the plea agreement, Martinez will be sentenced to 20 years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. His sentencing is scheduled for December 4.
The shooting occurred at approximately 4:00 p.m. on July 1, 2024, near Fairmount Avenue and West Street in the Village of Haverstraw.
As Monsey Scoop previously reported, officers responding to reports of gunfire found Alvarado suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Nyack Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
According to prosecutors, Martinez encountered Alvarado, whom he previously knew and had a disagreement with, on Main Street. A brief physical struggle followed before Alvarado fled on foot down West Street and entered his parked vehicle.
Prosecutors said Martinez chased after Alvarado, produced a loaded 9mm handgun and fired multiple rounds toward his vehicle as Alvarado attempted to drive away toward Fairmount Avenue. Alvarado was hit on his left side, with a bullet piercing his lung and heart and causing his death.
Surveillance footage from the area helped investigators quickly identify Martinez as the shooter, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Authorities said video showed Martinez entering a nearby apartment on Main Street after the shooting, changing his clothing and then leaving in a vehicle with two other individuals.
Martinez subsequently fled New York and changed his phone and social media accounts in an effort to evade law enforcement, prosecutors said.
Following an extensive multi-agency manhunt, Martinez was located on July 27, 2024, hiding at an Airbnb in Piedmont, South Carolina, where he was taken into custody without incident. He was later extradited to New York and committed to the Rockland County Jail. The firearm used in the shooting was never recovered.
The investigation was conducted by the Town of Haverstraw Police Department with assistance from the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, Rockland County Drug Task Force, Clarkstown Police Department, FBI Safe Streets Task Force, Westchester County Real Time Crime Center and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department Fugitive Apprehension Task Force in South Carolina.
“With this guilty plea, Yandie Martinez has no longer evaded justice and has finally taken responsibility for the senseless brazen daylight killing of Christian Alvarado,” Walsh said.
Walsh commended the Town of Haverstraw Police Department and the other law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation, calling the case a “true collaborative effort.”
“While nothing can reverse the devastating loss suffered by his family, it is my sincere hope that this conviction brings them a measure of closure and peace,” Walsh added.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Dorren M. Lloyd and Executive Assistant District Attorney Emily McNiff.
