Police now have three men in custody for the fatally stabbing a man in Elmhurst on Thanksgiving Day during an apparent melee and robbery.
Jesse Granados, 23, and Michael Velez, 27, both residents of 88th Street in Jackson Heights, were taken into custody on Dec. 2, law enforcement sources announced. They and Fernando Balcarce, 25, of Brooklyn face second-degree murder and first-degree robbery charges for the Nov. 24 murder of Bronx resident Jan Carlos Salcedo.
The 23-year-old Salcedo was stabbed in the torso front of a home on Judge Street between Elmhurst and Whitney avenues at about 12:18 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. He was taken by private means to nearby Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Sources familiar with the investigation said Salcedo, Granados, Velez and Balcarce were involved in an altercation with an group of unidentified suspects. The exchange turned deadly when one of the suspects allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Salcedo three times in the chest.
Valuables were stolen from Salcedo, but police did not identify exactly what was taken from him.
Balcarce, Granados and Velez were tracked down through the 110th Precinct Detective Squad’s ongoing investigation. In addition to being charged with murder and robbery, they were additionally booked for gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Multiple unidentified individuals involved in the deadly altercation remain at large, and police need help in finding them. Anyone with information about the murder is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit their website or send a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
