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 Harlem Hospital following emergency surgery. “Ramon Alvarez was brutally murdered while trying to protect his aunt from her ex-boyfriend,” Bragg said. “Jose Rodriguez fatally shot Mr. Alvarez, then shot at his ex-girlfriend, who thankfully survived but had to witness the murder of her courageous nephew. With this plea, Rodriguez has been held accountable for his actions, which devastated this family.”

Police arrested Rodriguez in the Bronx the next day. At his arraignment, prosecutors said he had texted the grief-stricken aunt following the shooting, blaming her. “You know it’s all your fault,” he wrote. Rodriguez is expected to be sentenced on Dec. 15 and is expected to face 18 years behind bars in state prison. About the Author Dean Moses Dean Moses is the Police Bureau Chief at amNewYork and resident photographer. He leads coverage of the NYPD, crime, criminal justice, and breaking news.

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