Jose Tirado Ramirez

Jose Tirado Ramirez, a 27-year-old Hispanic man from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was known to his loved ones as "Miguelito." He was remembered as a funny, kind, and giving person who was also a very respectful and caring brother. His family established a fundraiser to help with funeral expenses after his death in the spring of 2023.

On the evening of May 14, 2023, Tirado-Ramirez drove to the parking lot of the C-Town Supermarket on Tilghman Street in Allentown. According to police reports based on video surveillance, he spoke with a group of people there before an altercation began. During the confrontation, Tirado-Ramirez was shot multiple times. Around 9:35 p.m., officers found him in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, which had crashed at the nearby intersection of West Mohr and West Washington Streets. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries. The Lehigh County Coroner's Office later ruled his death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.

The Allentown Police Department investigated the shooting and soon identified two suspects: Adalberto Morales-Ortiz, then 45, and his nephew, Axel Fontanez-Morales, then 21. Both men were arrested shortly after the incident and charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide, and aggravated assault in connection with the death of Tirado-Ramirez. During the investigation, officers noted that other people present at the scene did not cooperate with authorities.

The case proceeded to a five-day trial in Lehigh County Court. Attorneys for Morales-Ortiz and Fontanez-Morales argued that their clients had acted in self-defense. They portrayed the incident not as a targeted attack but as a chaotic shootout involving about a half-dozen people and at least seven guns. The defense claimed that Tirado-Ramirez was among the aggressors, arriving with a group of masked individuals who were threatening a member of the defendants' family, and that Tirado-Ramirez had also fired a weapon during the incident.

On March 13, 2026, a jury found both Adalberto Morales-Ortiz and Axel Fontanez-Morales not guilty of homicide. Following the verdict, the family of Jose Tirado-Ramirez expressed their devastation. His sister, Nashaly Tirado, stated, “I am 100% sure that justice wasn’t done the right way.” With the acquittal of the only two individuals charged, no one has been convicted for the killing of Jose Tirado Ramirez as of March 2026.