Shooting charge to be upgraded to homicide

The 23-year-old man authorities say opened fire on a man and woman during a child custody exchange last month outside the Whitehall Township Walmart will now face two counts of criminal homicide after the man died this weekend, the Lehigh County district attorney said Monday.

Edward Joel Rosario-Jimenez, of the 800 block of Mickley Road in Whitehall, was charged with one count of homicide after 20-year-old Nicolette Law of Allentown died hours after the Feb. 26 shooting.

Jonathan Martinez, 22, of Allentown, the father of the child who was to be swapped between parents in the parking lot, was shot in the head and hospitalized in critical condition. He died Sunday afternoon at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said his office will upgrade the attempted homicide charge to homicide when Rosario-Jimenez appears for his preliminary hearing, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. April 23.

Police say Rosario-Jimenez drove the mother of Martinez’s child to the Walmart for the custody exchange with three others in the vehicle, though police did not make it clear if the child was present. Court records revealed that at one point during the swap, Rosario-Jimenez began arguing with Martinez.

The dispute turned violent when Rosario-Jimenez took out a handgun and fired three shots, hitting Martinez and Law, records say. The mother of the child and the others got into Rosario-Jimenez’s vehicle and drove away, leaving Rosario-Jimenez in the parking lot.

Rosario-Jimenez ditched his handgun in a snowbank and left on foot, authorities say. He was arrested Feb. 28 in Whitehall.

Friends and family of Law gathered March 2 in the parking lot for a vigil to remember the young woman, who was passionate about nursing. She was known for her contagious smile and desire to help others, especially seniors.

Law’s aunt, Erica Hampton of Allentown, decried the violence that led to the death of her niece.

“Allentown, Whitehall, we’ve got to do better,” she said. “We have to come up with better ways of solving problems than to shoot people.”

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