Martinez pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the Haverstraw shooting.

A guilty plea is an admission resolving the charge. It is not yet a sentence. On Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, Yandie Martinez, 20, of Garnerville, New York, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree in Rockland County Court before Judge Kevin F. Russo, with an expected sentence of 20 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision and sentencing set for Dec. 4, 2026. That 20-year term has not been imposed.

On July 1, 2024, at about 4:00 p.m., Town of Haverstraw Police responded to shots near Fairmont Avenue and West Street. Christian Alvarado, 29, was found with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced deceased at Nyack Hospital. Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II said that after a disagreement and a brief struggle, Alvarado fled on foot, entered his parked car, and drove away. Martinez produced a loaded 9mm and fired multiple rounds at the vehicle. Alvarado was struck on the left side, and a bullet pierced a lung and the heart. Those are the facts the District Attorney described. They are the record behind the plea. They are not a sentence.

Martinez fled the jurisdiction. He was arrested July 27, 2024, in an Airbnb in Piedmont, South Carolina, and was later extradited to New York. News 12 reported that he was arrested in South Carolina about a month after the shooting. The firearm was not recovered. Judge Russo has not yet imposed the 20 years and five years of post-release supervision expected under the plea. Dec. 4, 2026, is the sentencing date. It is not a judgment already entered. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.