A tragic story unfolded in the early hours of Easter Sunday in 2015, when 19-year-old Jose Velasquez was fatally shot in the Bronx. The young man, a resident of the South Bronx, was found with gunshot wounds to his torso and neck at an intersection in the West Bronx neighborhood of Mount Hope. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, but tragically, he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting led police to identify a suspect, Robert Collazo, who was 21 years old at the
time of his arrest on April 9, 2015. An eyewitness had identified Collazo as the shooter. Following his arrest, Collazo was held at Rikers Island for nearly three years as his case proceeded through the legal system.
Ultimately, Robert Collazo was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Jose Velasquez. The conviction came after a trial in the Bronx in December of 2017. The case, however, was not without its complexities. Collazo's defense attorney raised concerns about the police identification procedures, suggesting they may have been flawed. Despite these challenges to the evidence, the jury found Collazo guilty, bringing a measure of resolution to the violent death of a young man on a holiday morning.
