Two suspects have been charged with accessory to murder in connection with a fatal shooting of an infant in Holyoke earlier this month, according to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office.
Jose Galarza, 31, and Jay Marie Rosado-Rosario, 29, both of Holyoke were charged with accessory after the fact – murder, the district attorney’s office said on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
The shooting took place at about 12:30 p.m. near 397 Maple St. on Oct. 4 after three men got into a fight. A stray bullet hit Selena Santana, who was eight months pregnant with her third child, she told MassLive.
Santana said she could see the men fighting and could see when they started shooting.
“The light had turned green and the bus started turning,” Santana said in a phone interview from Baystate Medical Center in Springfield on Monday, Oct. 9, adding that the gunshots, “sounded like fireworks.”
Santana was brought to the hospital in critical condition. Her baby was delivered but died, officials said. The killing of the baby brought the county’s murder rate to 33, Hampden District Attorney James Leydon said.
Rosado-Rosario was arraigned Monday in Holyoke District Court. Her bail was set at $5,000 and her next court date is scheduled for Nov. 17, officials said. Galarza will be arraigned in Holyoke District Court Tuesday.
Both suspects are the latest to be charged in connection with the fatal shooting. Two other suspects, Johnluis Sanchez and Alejandro Ramos, have charged with murder in connection with the shooting.
On Oct. 6, Sanchez, 30, of Holyoke, was arraigned by Zoom in Holyoke District Court for his suspected involvement in the shooting.
His bail was revoked on an open firearms case out of Holyoke District Court, and he was held without the right to bail on a charge of murder for his alleged involvement in this case. Other charges are expected to follow.
Ramos, 22, also of Holyoke, was arraigned a day earlier on a charge of murder in Holyoke District Court in connection with his alleged role in the shooting. He is being held without the right to bail.
The pair’s next scheduled court date is Nov. 3, Leydon said.
Meanwhile, authorities are still looking for a third suspect, Kermith Alvarez. Alvarez is believed to have fled via an Uber after being treated for a gunshot wound on Oct. 4, officials said. The Massachusetts State Police also have placed Alvarez, also known as Kermith Vargas, on its Most Wanted list.
Anyone with information as to where Alvarez could be is asked to contact the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit at (413) 505-5993 or the Massachusetts State Police: Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section at 1-800-KAPTURE (1-800-527-8873). Alvarez should be considered armed and dangerous, officials said.
This incident is under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office and the Holyoke Police Department.
