Killer Of Harlem Kingpin Alpo Martinez Is Arrested, Police Say

HARLEM, NY — A Harlem man has been arrested and accused of murdering the ex-drug lord Alpo Martinez in a drive-by shooting last fall, police announced Sunday.

Shakeem Parker, 27, was arrested this week and charged with murder and weapons possession in the Oct. 31 killing of Martinez, who was shot while driving a car near West 152nd Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, according to police.

An East Harlem native, Martinez, 55, had played a prominent role in the city's cocaine and crack wars in the 1980s, for which he was later immortalized in the 2002 film "Paid in Full."

Following his 1991 arrest in Washington, D.C., Martinez became a government witness, testifying against his former subordinates — and putting a target on his own back.

Martinez was released from prison in 2015 and entered the witness protection program, living under a new name — Abraham Rodriguez — which was how authorities identified him upon his death.

According to the New York Times, Martinez had been living peacefully in Lewiston, Maine, where he owned his own construction business — but Harlem continued to tempt him, and he began returning to the neighborhood frequently, despite the danger, according to the Times.

Parker, the suspect, was already in custody on Rikers Island from an unrelated case when police linked him to Martinez's murder, according to the Daily News.

Related coverage: Ex-Drug Kingpin Shot Dead In Harlem Drive-By: Reports