Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced on Oct. 1 that Peekskill resident Matthew Torres pled guilty to manslaughter for the stabbing death of a Peekskill teen.
Torres, 18, pled guilty on September 29, 2021, to Manslaughter in the First Degree and Assault in the First Degree, both felonies. He faces a determinate sentence range from 5 to 25 years in state prison, with 2.5 to 5 years of post-release supervision.
On November 28, 2020, at approximately 9:15 p.m., several teens gathered at China Pier on Louisa Street in Peekskill to settle a dispute that began on social media. Torres, who was 17 at the time, stabbed 18-year-old Joaquin Salazar multiple times during the exchange. Salazar was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla where he was pronounced dead. A second victim, who sustained a single stab wound, was also taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery.
The Peekskill Police Department, assisted by New York State Police, investigated the incident and arrested Torres.
The case is before Judge Helen Blackwood in Youth Part and is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Counsel Craig Ascher. Torres is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2021.
Salazar was a high school soccer star at Peekskill High School.
