Man faces trial in October homicide

A South Whitehall Township man who is one of two people charged with killing a Massachusetts man outside an Allentown nightclub last fall must stand trial.

District Judge David Howells ruled Tuesday following a preliminary hearing that enough evidence exists for Jahmel A. Crews, 25, to appear in Lehigh County Court.

Crews and Walter Martinez, 26, of Allentown, are accused of fatally shooting Yaret Rivera, 22, of Worchester during a botched robbery, authorities previously said.

The shooting happened just after 1 a.m. Oct. 23 in the parking lot of the Chicago Sports Bar & Grill and Club Gravity on Airport Road. There, police found Rivera with a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

During the investigation, court records show that each of the two men told detectives he was not the shooter and blamed the other man.

Both men are charged with single counts each of homicide, robbery and criminal conspiracy.

Martinez, 26, of Allentown, in January waived his right to a preliminary hearing, automatically sending his case to court, records show. Both he and Crews remain in Lehigh County Jail without bail.