New Major Update In Search For Haverstraw Homicide Suspect

Over the last month the Haverstraw Police Department has been knee deep in their investigation of a homicide that occurred in the town right at the beginning of the month on July 1, 2024. The investigation began with calls of shots fired, followed by police officers arriving on and assessing the scene where afterward law enforcement beginning an official investigation.

News regarding this investigation has been sporadic. Within days of the homicide occuring, Haverstraw Police had notified the public and released official press releases with details of what they knew at the time and in addition, how they had identified a suspect.

After those initial reports, no updates were given for weeks. That brings us to present day where two major updates were provided in the last week by Haverstraw Police, including the biggest update yet which occured over the weekend. You may follow our previous coverage of this story at the link below.

Haverstraw Police Offering Reward for Help in Homicide Investigation

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Haverstraw Homicide Details Then

On July 1st when the calls of shots fired first reached the Haverstraw Police, they responded to the scene located between Fairmount Ave and West Street in Haverstraw and discovered the aftermath of a car accident where one vehicle had crashed into a parked car. Near the accident they found the driver of the vehicle on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso.

The victim was taken to Nyack Hospital for his injuries but sadly was pronounced dead upon arrival. Shortly after, law enforcement was able to confirm the identity of the victim as 29-year old Christian Alvarado of Pomona, New York.

Just days after the incident, Haverstraw Police announced that they had identified a suspect in the homicide investigation. That suspect was identified as 18-year old Yandie Martinez. A wanted picture was provided of Martinez in that announcement where Martinez was described as having black hair, brown eyes, was approximately 6'0 feet tall and weighed 170 pounds.

Martinez was also identifiable based on his tattoos. Both tattoos were large in appearance, with one being located on his right inner-forearm and the other being on the left side of his neck.

Information Reward and Weekend Arrest

After the initial reports that came in the days after the incident, information became sparse. Weeks went by with no new information while law enforcement continued their investigation. Then on July 19 Haverstraw Police provided new information.

The information itself was not regarding anything new to the case in terms of details but was actually a request to the public. That request was for information, information that would or could lead to the arrest of Martinez. The Haverstraw Police statement was that a reward could be had for anyone with that kind of information, that reward being $5,000.

Enter this passed weekend where on Saturday July 27, Haverstraw Police released their newest information on the case. This update being the most important yet, as law enforcement discovered and arrested the suspect Yandie Martinez.

According to the official press release from the Haverstraw Police Department via their Facebook page...

Martinez was taken into custody at 1:20 pm in Piedmont, South Carolina in a collaborative effort with members of the Greenville County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Apprehension Special Investigations Team (FASIT), FBI-Westchester Safe Streets task force, and the FBI-Columbia Division.

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It was also announced that Town of Haverstraw Police Chief John Gould will be holding a press conference regarding the arrest and investigation. It is expected more information will be released during that time. We will continue to provide information regarding this story when it becomes.