Police Make Arrest In March Hit-and-Run

A Yonkers resident was arrested Friday, accused of killing a pedestrian in the city on March 8.

Yonkers police were called to Bruce Avenue at Radford Street at 2:55 a.m. March 8 for a report of a man struck by a car. They found the victim lying on the road with severe injuries. Medical aid was rendered to the victim and he was brought to a local area trauma center where he succumbed to his injuries and died.

The victim was identified as Jesus Angel Villanueva, a 23-year-old resident of Radford Street. Investigation yielded that he had been struck by a gray four-door passenger sedan that drove away.

Detectives assigned to the Major Case Squad have been working diligently for the past several weeks to identify the operator of sedan, police said. Initial leads were limited to several grainy nighttime images of what appeared to be an early model Honda Civic.

Investigators canvassed dozens of potential witnesses, interviewed multiple subjects, and reviewed hours of surveillance video in order to develop information that ultimately produced a suspect; that person was placed into custody last week without incident, and subsequently arrested and charged in the motor vehicle accident that took the life of the victim.

He is identified as John A. Martinez, a 25-year-old resident of Oliver Avenue. The vehicle Martinez was operating the night of the incident has also been located in the State of Connecticut; it is a 2003 gray Honda Civic and has been recovered as evidence.

Martinez has been charged with one count of Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident – Injury Resulting in Death, a Class D Felony in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law. He was arraigned and sent to the Westchester County Jail with bail set at $20,000; his next court date is scheduled for April 17. The case is being prosecuted by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

Additional information may be released as it becomes available. The City of Yonkers and Yonkers Police Department offers its sincere condolences to the family of the victim.