In the autumn of 2014, a young man's life was tragically cut short on a street in Albany, New York. Jorge Alberto Falu-Garcia, a 25-year-old male of Hispanic descent, was fatally shot on October 2, 2014. Known to his friends and family by several nicknames including 'Coy,' '50,' 'Kiry,' and 'Boster,' he was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, on December 20, 1988. Falu-Garcia had moved to Albany from Puerto Rico, living in the city for the five years preceding his death.
He was a father and was remembered by loved ones as a dedicated and hard worker.
The shooting occurred in the afternoon, at approximately 1:48 p.m., in the area of First Street. Falu-Garcia was shot in the head and torso. Emergency services responded to the scene at First and Judson streets, and he was transported to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where he later died from his injuries. In the immediate aftermath, police surrounded a nearby building where a suspect was believed to have fled, but the individual who emerged was not charged at the time.
For nearly a year, the case remained under investigation. An arrest was finally made on August 19, 2015, when Ismael Ayala, then 19, was taken into custody by Albany police for illegal possession of a firearm. The subsequent investigation into the firearm charge linked Ayala to the killing of Falu-Garcia.
In July 2016, Ismael Ayala pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the first degree. By pleading guilty, Ayala admitted to shooting and killing Jorge Falu-Garcia. On September 2, 2016, he was sentenced for his crime. Ayala received a sentence of 22 years in state prison, which will be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
