On the evening of May 6, 2026, a burst of gunfire shattered the night near the intersection of Suffolk and Elm Streets in Holyoke, Massachusetts. When police responded to a ShotSpotter activation at approximately 9:26 p.m., they discovered 42-year-old Caleb Rodriguez inside a vehicle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers immediately began life-saving measures before he was rushed to Baystate Medical Center, but tragically, he was later pronounced dead.
Investigators believe Rodriguez was sitting in his vehicle when an altercation occurred that ended with him being fatally shot.
The investigation into the death of the Easthampton man moved swiftly. Led by the Hampden District Attorney's State Police Detective Unit, the Murder Unit, and the Holyoke Police Department, authorities pieced together the events of that night using witness statements and surveillance footage. The evidence they gathered suggested that the fatal encounter may have stemmed from an attempted robbery. This crucial information led investigators to identify two suspects from Holyoke, 36-year-old Melquiades Cabrera and 39-year-old Melissa Rosado.
Just a day after the shooting, on May 7, investigators conducting surveillance in the area of Franklin and Maple Streets spotted Cabrera and Rosado walking near Bristol Place and Commercial Street at around 3:40 p.m. They were detained without incident and subsequently arrested. Both Cabrera and Rosado were arraigned in Holyoke District Court on murder charges. They are currently being held without the right to bail as they await their next court appearances, which are scheduled for early June. The case against them is an active and ongoing investigation, with prosecutors building their case around the theory of a deadly attempted robbery that ended the life of Caleb Rodriguez.
