Teen Indicted In Shooting Death Of Tarrytown Resident

WHITE PLAINS, NY — An 18-year-old Mount Vernon man was arraigned Monday for the shooting death of Sleepy Hollow resident Manuel Salazar in June.

The charges in the indictment against Emmanuel Valentin Perez include manslaughter in the first degree, criminal use of a firearm in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, attempted assault in the first degree, and assault in the second degree, all felonies.

Prosecutors allege that Perez shot Salazar at 9:32 p.m. June 28 during an argument at Margotta Courts Park in Sleepy Hollow.

Salazar, 31, was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla where he was pronounced dead. A second victim, who also sustained a gunshot wound, was also taken to the hospital, treated and released.

"These senseless acts of violence that result in loss of life, injury and residents feeling unsafe in their neighborhoods cannot become commonplace. We should not, and will not, stand for that,” Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah said in an announcement. “The District Attorney’s Office will continue to work vigorously with our law enforcement partners to eliminate gun violence in our communities.”

Sleepy Hollow police arrested Perez June 29, after interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance video. The Westchester County Department of Public Safety and the FBI’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force assisted in the investigation.

The case is before Judge David Zuckerman in Westchester County Court and is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys in the Major Case Bureau and the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau.

Perez faces a sentence range from 5 to 25 years in state prison, with 2.5 to 5 years of post-release supervision.