Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced that 18-year-old Emmanuel Valentin Perez was arraigned on Monday for the shooting death of a Sleepy Hollow resident.
The charges in the indictment 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.
Perez, of Mount Vernon, faces a determinate sentence range from 5 to 25 years in state prison, with 2.5 to 5 years of post-release supervision.
On June 28, 2021, at approximately 9:32 p.m., Perez fatally shot 31-year-old Sleepy Hollow resident Manuel Salazar during an argument at Margotta Courts Park in Sleepy Hollow. Salazar 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.
Sleepy Hollow Police arrested Perez on June 29, 2021, 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.
“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,” DA Rocah said. “The District Attorney’s Office will continue to work vigorously with our law enforcement partners to eliminate gun violence in our communities.”
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.
Salazar formerly lived in Sleepy Hollow and attended Sleepy Hollow High School. His wife, Natalie Salazar, set up a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $26,000. “Never in a million years I would think I would be doing this. Manny was a VERY LOVING husband, father, brother & son. We lost him young and in a very hurtful way. Unfortunately he fought and didn’t make it. Leaving behind so many people that loved and cared for him always. Help me carry the love of my life in a way we will never forget,” writes Natalie Salazar.
