On the evening of February 23, 2025, a tragic event unfolded on the 4400 block of Eastern Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, forever altering the lives of those involved. Celvin Olivares-Portillo, a 20-year-old Black male, was walking with his girlfriend around 6:08 p.m., reportedly on their way to dinner. Their path was intercepted by two individuals who approached and opened fire on the couple. While his girlfriend managed to escape unharmed, Olivares-Portillo suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
When law enforcement officials from the Southeast District arrived at the scene in response to reports of gunfire, they found him lying on his back. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the death of Celvin Olivares-Portillo led to the identification of one of the suspects through surveillance footage. An officer familiar with one of the individuals identified Jessiel Zuniga Martinez as the shooter from still shots captured by the cameras. The footage showed Martinez taking a Maryland Transit Administration bus to the vicinity of the incident, where he met with a second suspect. The two then began to follow Olivares-Portillo along Eastern Avenue before the fatal shooting. After the incident, both suspects fled on foot. The crime scene yielded eight 9mm shell casings, two live 9mm bullets, and two 9mm projectiles.
Jessiel Zuniga Martinez, a 16-year-old from Honduras who had been in the United States for about three years, was charged as an adult in connection with the murder. He faced multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree murder and reckless endangerment, as well as several firearm violations. On December 15, 2025, which was his 17th birthday, Martinez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and a firearm use charge before a Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge. In exchange for his guilty plea, he was sentenced to an aggregate of 40 to 50 years in prison, with the first five years to be served without the possibility of parole. His prison term will be followed by five years of supervised probation. During the legal proceedings, it was revealed that a friend of Olivares-Portillo's girlfriend had received threatening messages, which included references to the 18th Street gang. As of the time of Martinez's plea hearing, the second suspect involved in the shooting had not been apprehended and remains at large.
