GUILTY PLEA IN HAVERSTRAW DEADLY SHOOTING FROM SUMMER OF 2024
NEW CITY, N.Y. – District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced today that Yandie Martinez, 20, of Garnerville, New York, pled guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree in Rockland County Court on September 23, 2026, before the Honorable Kevin F. Russo. The defendant will be sentenced to 20 years in state prison and 5 years of post-release supervision. The sentencing is scheduled for December 4, 2026.
On July 1, 2024, at approximately 4:00 p.m., officers from the Town of Haverstraw Police Department responded to reports of shots fired near Fairmont Avenue and West Street. Upon arrival, authorities discovered Christian Alvarado suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Nyack Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The Town of Haverstraw Police Department began the investigation and with assistance from the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office secured surveillance footage from the immediate vicinity of the shooting. A review of the surveillance footage revealed the defendant encounter Chrisitan Alvarado, an individual that was previously known to him whom he had a disagreement with on Main Street. Alvarado initiated a brief physical struggle in the street and then fled away from the defendant on foot down West Street. The defendant chased after Alvarado on foot. Alvarado was able to enter his parked car and proceeded to drive away towards Fairmont Avenue. The defendant produced a loaded 9mm pistol, pointed the firearm at Alvarado’s vehicle as he was seated in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and as he ran past the vehicle, he fired multiple rounds towards it with the intent of causing Christian Alvarado a serious physical injury. Alvarado was struck on his left side, and the bullet pierced his lung and heart causing his death. Video surveillance captured the defendant enter a nearby apartment on Main Street, change his clothes and enter a vehicle with two other individuals and flee. Based upon the review of the video surveillance from multiple locations that captured the shooting, Yandie Martinez was immediately identified as the shooter. Following the shooting, Martinez fled the jurisdiction, switched his phone and social media accounts to evade law enforcement. A comprehensive multi-agency manhunt resulted in the apprehension of Martinez on July 27, 2024, hiding out in an Airbnb in Piedmont, South Carolina and taken into custody without incident. The firearm used in the shooting was not recovered. On August 28, 2027, Martinez was extradited and flown back to the State of New York and committed to the Rockland County Jail.
The investigation was conducted by the Town of Haverstraw Police Department with assistance from the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, the Rockland County Drug Task Force, the Town of Clarkstown Police Department, the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, the Westchester County Real Crime Time Center, and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department Fugitive Apprehension Task Force in South Carolina.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Dorren M. Lloyd and Executive Assistant District Attorney Emily McNiff.
DA Tom Walsh stated, “With this guilty plea, Yandie Matrinez has no longer evaded justice and has finally taken responsibility for the senseless brazen daylight killing of Christian Alvarado. I commend the Town of Haverstraw Police Department for their dedication and professionalism in this case and thank all the law enforcement agencies that assisted in this investigation. It was a true collaborative effort and demonstrates how when law enforcement works together justice can be achieved. While nothing can reverse the devasting loss suffered by his family, it is my sincere hope that this conviction brings them a measure of closure and peace. Violent crime such as this shooting on the streets of the Village of Haverstraw has no place in Rockland County. My office remains committed in our mission to remove violent offenders from our streets.”
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