On the evening of December 8, 2021, a young Hispanic man named Damian Alicea-Diaz, aged 20, was fatally shot in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The incident occurred at approximately 10:00 p.m. when the Holyoke Police Department was dispatched to the 100 block of Sargeant Street following reports of gunfire. Upon their arrival, officers discovered Alicea-Diaz inside an apartment, suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound.
He was quickly transported to Baystate Medical Center for emergency treatment but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased shortly after his arrival.
The investigation into the death of Damian Alicea-Diaz was a collaborative effort involving the Holyoke Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorney's Office, and the Hampden District Attorney's Office's Murder Unit. Their work led to the identification of a suspect.
In the course of their investigation, detectives sought and were granted an arrest warrant for Jose Colon-Collazo, a 24-year-old resident of Holyoke. On February 3, 2022, a team comprising members of the Holyoke Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police's Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, and the District Attorney's State Police Detective Unit located Colon-Collazo in an apartment at 69 Elmwood Avenue. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Holyoke Police Department. Jose Colon-Collazo was arraigned in Holyoke District Court on February 7, 2022, on a murder charge and was ordered to be held without the right to bail.
