Justin Herde, 24, Betty Cotto, 38, and Alfredo Trinidad, 42, were taken in for police questioning Monday in connection to the death of 45-year-old Bronx man William Alvarez.
www.dailymail.co.uk
PICTURED: Three subway murder suspects accused of killing man, 45, on NYC train in dawn attack
- Justin Herde, 24, Betty Cotto, 38, and Alfredo Trinidad, 42, were arrested
- The trio were questioned over the murder of 45-year-old William Alvarez
- Police say all three suspects have prior arrests, including one for assault
By
Mackenzie Tatananni For Dailymail.Com
Published: 16:54 EST, 26 February 2024 | Updated: 16:54 EST, 26 February 2024
Three suspects wanted in connection to the murder of a man on a Bronx subway car have been taken into custody.
Justin Herde, 24, Betty Cotto, 38, and Alfredo Trinidad, 42, were taken in for police questioning just before noon on Monday.
The three suspects, described as 'transient' by law enforcement, are accused of fatally attacking 45-year-old William Alvarez just after 5am Friday on a southbound D train.
Members of the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force traced the suspects to an apartment on Villa Avenue.
Officials said Trinidad was arrested while with his girlfriend and her brother. He had a gun in his possession when he was taken into custody.
Three suspects have been taken into custody in connection to the murder of Bronx man William Alvarez, 45, who was attacked on a subway car
The suspects have been named as Betty Cotto, 38; Justin Herde, 24; and Alfredo Trinidad, 42
ASIAN FACE
Alvarez was sitting on the train Friday morning when the suspects boarded at the Fordham Road station. One of the men sat next to the 45-year-old, and the duo exchanged words before they started arguing
All three suspects have prior arrests, according to the
New York City Police Department. Cotto was arrested for theft in 2006, Trinidad for fare evasion in 2012, and Herde for misdemeanor assault in 2021.
On the morning of the fatal attack, Alvarez was sitting on the train when the suspects boarded at the Fordham Road station.
One of the men sat next to the 45-year-old, and the duo exchanged words before they started arguing.
Alvarez was then surrounded by the other suspects and suffered a fatal wound to the torso. DailyMail.com reached out to the medical examiner's office for more information on the nature of his injuries.
'As they're physically fighting each other, the two others...they joined the fight,' NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said, describing the altercation as 'three on one.'
The train pulled up at a station in Grand Concourse and the suspects fled. When police found Alvarez, he was unconscious.
The man was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital.
He was raised in the Bronx by parents from the Dominican Republic, but his family had not seen him in months as he fell into the throes of drug addiction.
'These cowards took my son away from me, my only son,' mother Anna Vazquez, 63, told the New York Daily News. 'I’m holding on.'
As the fight escalated, Alvarez was surrounded by the other suspects and suffered a fatal injury to the torso. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead
The 45-year-old was grappling with drug addiction at the time of his death. He leaves behind a son and a daughter
The Bronx man had a checkered criminal past including several prior arrests for burglary and drug-related offenses.
He was added to the sex offender registry for raping a 13-year-old girl in 1997 when he was 19.
Alvarez was most recently released from prison in May 2018, and family members say he was rebuilding his life when tragedy struck.
'He was fighting his demons,' Vazquez said. 'He was trying to change his life and, sorry to say, this tragedy in the D train, they took my son.'
Alvarez leaves behind a 21-year-old son and 26-year-old daughter, whom he shares with his ex-wife.
His death is the latest to result from violence on the New York City subway.
On February 12, gunfire spilled onto the platform at the Mt. Eden Avenue subway station in the Bronx,
injuring five and killing a 35-year-old man.
nypost.com
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