On a late morning in Holyoke, Massachusetts, the sound of gunfire shattered the peace on Appleton Street. On June 23, 2023, a 911 call reported a shooting victim in the 300 block of the street. When police officers arrived shortly after 9:20 a.m., they found 30-year-old Hispanic/Latino male, Edgar Soto-Irizarry, suffering from gunshot wounds. Despite the immediate medical attention he received at the scene, his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced deceased before he could be
transported to a hospital.
The investigation into the death of Edgar Soto-Irizarry quickly pointed to a suspect, another Holyoke resident named Aleq Rodriguez, who was 22 years old at the time. As investigators began to close in, they discovered that Rodriguez had fled the area in the days immediately following the shooting. His destination was Puerto Rico, sparking a manhunt that extended beyond the mainland United States. In the months that followed, law enforcement agencies collaborated to track down the fugitive.
The search for Aleq Rodriguez came to an end on September 21, 2023, when members of the United States Marshals Service apprehended him in Puerto Rico. Following his capture, Rodriguez was extradited back to Massachusetts to face a murder charge for his alleged role in Edgar Soto-Irizarry's death. During his arraignment on October 12, 2023, a judge ordered him to be held without bail. At the time of his arrest, Rodriguez also had an open firearms case, for which his bail was revoked. The case against him is now proceeding through the court system.
