Joseph Pichardo, a 24-year-old man, was fatally shot in a targeted attack on the evening of January 17, 2021, in Yonkers, New York. The incident occurred around 10 p.m. inside a first-floor hallway of an apartment building at 54 Fairview Street. Responding to a call, investigators discovered Pichardo face down, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
He was transported to a local hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the homicide led authorities to identify 27-year-old Claismar Abreu-Then of Hartford, Connecticut, as the primary suspect. Believed to be the tragic end to an ongoing dispute between the two men, investigators alleged that Abreu-Then approached Pichardo in the hallway and shot him several times before escaping the scene. Through a multi-agency effort involving the Yonkers Police Detective Division, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, and law enforcement agencies in Hartford, a warrant was secured for Abreu-Then's arrest.
Just four days after the shooting, on January 21, 2021, Claismar Abreu-Then was taken into custody in Hartford without incident. The arrest was a collaborative effort between Yonkers and Hartford Police, along with the FBI's Northern Connecticut Violent Crime and Gang Task Force. Following his apprehension, police in Hartford recovered an illegal 9mm handgun and a quantity of fentanyl pills. Abreu-Then was charged with second-degree murder and was held in Hartford on local weapons and drug charges while awaiting extradition to Westchester County to face the murder charge. The case was set to be prosecuted by the Westchester County District Attorney's Office.
