Gunman pleads guilty to fatally shooting girlfriend’s teen nephew in Harlem

The man who fatally shot his ex-lover’s teen nephew in Harlem pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the slaying, prosecutors announced. According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, 56-year-old Jose Rodriguez admitted his guilt in the 2024 deadly shooting in New York County Supreme Court on charges of murder, attempted murder, burglary, and criminal possession of a weapon. Court documents show that Rodriguez traveled to his ex-girlfriend’s Jefferson Houses apartment near East 112th Street and 3rd Avenue at around 3 a.m. on April 10 of that year with ill intent. He burst into the home that morning and instantly began arguing with his estranged girlfriend. Hearing the commotion and his aunt’s pleas demanding that Rodriguez leave, 19-year-old Ramon Alvarez tried to intervene and protect his loved one. Rodriguez brandished a firearm and shot Alvarez in the abdomen before turning the gun on his ex and opening fire, grazing her shoulder. While his aunt survived, Alvarez died at H