Arrest in Alpo Martinez murder case

Arrest in Alpo Martinez case

Police say they have made arrest in connection with the Alpo Martinez investigation.

NEW YORK - The NYPD has arrested a man accused of murdering former New York City drug lord Alberto "Alpo" Martinez.

27-year-old Shakeem Parker faces murder and weapons charges in connection with the case.

Martinez was shot and killed in Harlem on Oct. 31, 2021. The NYPD was called to Frederick Douglass Boulevard near W. 147th St. just before 3:30 a.m.

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A dark, red pickup truck had crashed into parked cars. Martinez, the driver, had been shot 5 times in the chest through the car window. He continued to drive the truck approximately four blocks before crashing.

EMS took him to NYC Health + Hospitals Harlem but it was too late to save his life.

Martinez became famous in the 1980s for his murderous ways and mountains of drugs and cash. He was immortalized in dozens of rap songs and the movie Paid in Full.

Martinez was in the witness protection program so his ID had the name Abraham Rodriguez printed on it along with a Lewiston, Maine address. He had been given a new identity after he was released from a Colorado prison in 2015. He had been serving more than 20 years for his role in 14 murders.

He had also widely believed to have flipped on his former associates to cut years off of what could have been a life sentence.

Instead of lying low, he was often seen in Harlem and there may have been no shortage of people who wanted him dead.