Man Shot 21 Times By NYPD During Wild Harlem Shootout Had $87K Cash At Home As Well As Cocaine And Marijuana
NyPost.com: Cops seized $87,000 in cash as well as evidence of cocaine trafficking yesterday from the home of the man who miraculously survived after being hit by 21 bullets on Sunday, police sources said.
The officers reported finding 30 Ziploc bags containing a white residue along with the cash in Angel Alvarez's apartment.
Alvarez, 23, allegedly pummeled Luis Soto, 22, in a fistfight at a Harlem block party and then grabbed Soto's .38-caliber pistol.
Cops said he fired twice at responding officers, prompting them to return a 46-shot volley.
Soto was struck five times and died. The medical examiner determined he was killed by a police bullet.
Alleged shooter Angel Alvarez, is seen in this undated handout photo released Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010 in New York. Alvarez allegedly shot and killed Luis Soto and then allegedly turned his gun on arriving police officers. Alvarez was shot 21 times and survived.
Police also raided Soto's Bronx home and said they carted away 25 small bags of marijuana.
Inside a safe, they found 15 sandwich bags each holding about an ounce of pot, according to the sources.
Police said they also found several identification cards that didn't belong to Soto.
Soto's father, also named Luis Soto, is awaiting trial on federal heroin-trafficking charges, records show.
The elder Soto had premonitions that his son would die, relatives said yesterday.
"He was dreaming for three days that his son was going to be killed, so imagine what happened when I told him. He could barely speak," said Myrna Soto, the dead man's grandmother.
Meanwhile, federal agents traveled to Georgia to trace the younger Soto's revolver.
"We want to know how this gun got onto the streets of New York," said a source with the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The ATF, along with two members of the Joint Firearms Task Force, flew to Columbus, Ga., to interview a man who purchased the .38-caliber Smith & Wesson and two other handguns on the same day in 2007.
Police have already determined that the gun was not involved in any crimes before Sunday's shooting.
