On the evening of July 22, 2025, 35-year-old Hispanic male, Jorge Alvarado, a from Yakima, was shot at Miller Park, 502 N. 4th Street. Officers arrived around 6:25–6:30 p.m. to find the 35-year-old man with a gunshot wound; despite immediate lifesaving efforts by police and Yakima Fire, he died at the scene. The park was quickly cordoned off as the Major Crimes Unit took over, gathering surveillance and appealing for witnesses in what became one of two homicides the city faced that week.
Early reports named the victim only by age and circumstances, as detectives asked the community for help while the investigation took shape.
Within days, the case pivoted from unanswered questions to a clear suspect. According to county prosecutors, a 16-year-old from Yakima, identified as Ernesto Arias, was arrested two days after the shooting and later reported publicly on July 30. Authorities say an argument at the park preceded the violence; during that confrontation, the teen allegedly threatened to kill the 35-year-old male before firing the fatal shot. Prosecutors set bail at $250,000 and filed charges of second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Although 16, the suspect will face the charges as an adult under Washington law.
In the first forty-eight hours after the homicide, local outlets had noted there were no arrests and that investigators were working parallel leads on a separate, unrelated killing later that week. Those appeals for tips gave way to the news of the teen's arrest, while police continued to emphasize the distinct nature of the two cases and the need for community cooperation. The Yakima County Coroner's Office publicly identified the man killed at Miller Park as 35-year-old Jorge Alvarado of Yakima.
As friends and family mourned, an online fundraiser remembered the 35-year-old male as “Happy,” a source of joy whose absence left loved ones heartbroken and struggling with funeral costs. Memorial posts on gun-violence trackers likewise marked his death and linked to local reporting that traced the investigation from the first police call to the subsequent arrest.
