The arrest of a 27-year-old man for the murder of Nike Colon ties together a series of events and retaliations seemingly kicked off by the May 2016 shooting at Haverhill’s Swasey Field.
Eddy Manuel Almonte was arrested late Tuesday night for Colon’s murder during an unrelated motor vehicle stop in Winchester, Va. As WHAV first reported Wednesday, Almonte was among three arrested and charged during June 2016 with what was suspected to be “gang-related retaliation” for the earlier Swasey shooting. WHAV’s investigation into gun-related arrests paints a picture of two rival gangs bearing responsibility for all or most of the shootings over the past two years.
Two people survived gunshot wounds at Swasey two years ago, while no injuries were reported after shots were fired by rival gang members on Temple Street. In the latter case, Almonte was originally charged with armed assault with intent to murder, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and obstructing a police investigation.
Two Gangs, Three People Free Despite Gun-Related Arrests
WHAV has asked for court information detailing how Almonte ended up free to allegedly murder Colon. The answer was not available by news deadline.
Sixteen-year-old Martin Lewis was eventually indicted on two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after the Swasey Field shooting. However, as WHAV reported, he too was freed after his lawyer won a court motion to suppress his identity. Before Lewis was identified, Haverhill Police reported the arrest of a 16-year-old on two counts of assault to murder while armed, one count of carrying a firearm without a license, one count of carrying ammunition without a FID card and two counts of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.
Lewis, now 18, was arrested again this past April 3 on gun-related charges. These included unlicensed possession of ammunition and large capacity firearms.
Besides Almonte, 18-year-old Juan Marte and 20-year-old Mario Acosta were charged with firearms-related crimes for the suspected Temple Street retaliatory strike. Both were charged with armed assault with intent to murder, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and unlawful possession of a firearm. Acosta was also charged with unlawfully carrying a dangerous weapon, a machete.
Sources: Colon Had Been Targeted Twice Before
Source reports that Colon had survived two earlier murder attempts could not be verified, but police did say the gunman missed the intended victim of the Temple Street shooting. A vehicle near where the unidentified target was standing was struck.
This past January, an unidentified 20-year-old Haverhill man was shot near 44 Portland St., but survived his wounds.
Despite his earlier arrest Marte was also free when Haverhill and State Police arrested him last November in Haverhill with four others for illegal possession of a loaded Taurus .44 caliber revolver and a loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun. Besides Marte, also arrested were 19-year-old Nestor Gonzalez, 22-year-old Carlos Rodriguez, 20-year-old Lizmarie Lozada and a 17-year-old male.
In an address before Haverhill city councilors, Haverhill Police Chief Alan R. DeNaro last November began connecting the dots for the public.
“We arrested five subjects inside the vehicle. We also recovered two guns that we are currently running ballistic tests now on we believe may have been the guns involved in four of the last five shootings,” DeNaro said.
At the time, the chief held out hope the arrests might halt the violence. “It was a huge arrest that we think is going to be significant as far as bringing this nonsense to an end, and quickly.”
It is unclear if there is any connection with other shooting incidents, including the May 6 shotgun killing of 40-year-old Jeffrey Larkin of Haverhill. Larkin sustained a gunshot wound to the chest near Emerson and Grand Streets.