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HAZLE TWP. — An 18-year-old Hazle Township man who suffered multiple gunshot wounds in what state police at Hazleton believe was a targeted plot died Saturday.
Rolando K. Cepeda was sitting on a stool outside Performance Auto Repair on West 23rd Street when two men approached him wearing ski masks and black hooded sweatshirts at about 5 p.m. Friday, according to court records.
One of the masked men discharged a firearm multiple times striking Cepeda and another person, court records say.
Cepeda was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest where he died Saturday afternoon, according to Lehigh Count Coroner Daniel A. Buglio.
An autopsy performed Monday revealed Cepeda died from multiple gunshot wounds. The manner of death was ruled a homicide, Buglio stated.
The second shooting victim was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital. A medical condition was not immediately known.
State police investigators on Saturday arrested Ismael A. Valdez Batista, 17, of Mahanoy City, on charges of criminal attempt to commit homicide and criminal attempt to commit aggravated assault. Valdez Batista was arraigned by Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough as an adult and jailed at the county correctional facility without bail.
During an interview with investigators, Valdez Batista claimed he was contacted in a group online chat to provide transportation for a friend, who is named in court records but not criminally charged, to a Chinese restaurant. Valdez Batista was with his girlfriend when he picked up his friend and another male and drove to the area of Vine and 17th streets.
Valdez Batista claimed the purpose of the trip was to target Cepeda as his friend believed he was a member of a street gang but denied knowing Cepeda was going to be shot, court records say.
Court records say Valdez Batista was going to drop off his friend and the other man and leave but was warned by his friend to stay. After hearing gunshots, Valdez Batista allegedly told investigators his friend and the other man ran back to his vehicle and he sped away.
Investigators said Valdez Batista was located when the get-away vehicle, an Honda Accord, was traced back to him.
Surveillance footage showed Cepeda sitting on a stool outside the auto repair garage when two men approached and began shooting, court records say.
State police said the investigation is continuing.