Allentown homicide suspect confessed to shooting, police say

The man arrested for the fatal shooting in Allentown on Sunday admitted to police he shot the victim several times, according to court records.

Pedro Alicea-Perez, 35, was arrested Sunday and charged with criminal homicide in the shooting death of Andy Hernandez Rojas at 521 N. 7th St.

Police identified Alicea-Perez after receiving information that the shooter may have gone to a third floor apartment at 243 North 7th Street, police said.

Surveillance was conducted and Alicea-Perez was seen leaving that apartment, police said.

Police later questioned Alicea-Perez and he admitted to the shooting, according to the arrest affidavit.

A search of the apartment later revealed a .380 caliber gun under a bed, police said. It was later discovered to have been stolen from an Allentown house in November 2010, according to the affidavit.

Allentown Police Assistant Chief Joe Hanna did not respond to phone messages for comment. He previously told WFMZ the shooting was likely "victim specific" and not a random incident.

Capt. Daryl Hendricks declined to comment on a motive or the relationship, if any, between Perez and Rojas.

"It's early in the investigation," Hendricks said. "That information is not yet publicly available."

Lehigh County First Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa, who signed off on the arrest warrant, also declined to comment.

Alicea-Perez was committed to Lehigh County Prison and was not eligible for bail, according to court records.

Alicea-Perez, who also goes by Ruben, was previously sentenced to Lehigh County Prison in February for a minimum of 11 months and 15 days on aggravated assault and forgery counts, according to court records.

He was paroled about a month later, records say. Police said Alicea-Perez was not legally permitted to possess a firearm due to his past felony conviction.

Rojas had been brought by friends to the hospital and was initially stabilized, but later succumbed to his injuries at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

This is Allentown's second homicide of the year. Allentown resident Hagos F. Mezgebo, 22, was killed in the city's first homicide of 2012 on Jan. 7 in the 200 block of Fountain Street. No arrests have been made for that murder.

There also were four murders in the city within a week in December.

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