A suspect on the lam more than four years has been arrested for the shooting death of an aspiring 18-year-old Bronx dancer, police said Wednesday.
Carlos Melendez, 34, was charged Tuesday with murdering Joseph Ozuna outside the Mitchel Houses NYCHA building where the victim lived.
The NYPD named Melendez as the suspect and released a photo of him on April 26, 2021, asking the public’s help tracking him down.
The murder on the afternoon of Jan. 20, 2021, devastated the victim’s family, who said Ozuna’s passion was dance.
“Salsa, merengue, bachata and more — if a band could play it, Ozuna could dance to it,” his half-sister, Lorena said.
The proud sister said Ozuna earned trophies for his fancy footwork and had traveled around the country and abroad to compete in dance events.
“He even went to the White House to dance for the president with his dance school,” Ozuna said.
The victim was shot at 3:40 p.m. in the head and neck outside the Alexander Ave. building where he lived.
Neighbor Eddie Rodriguez, 63 at the time, said he heard three shots and ran out of the building just in time to see Ozuna already on the ground.
“I was in the lobby when I heard the shots,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t see anything but the kid laying on the ground.”
The suspect, who is also charged with manslaughter and gun possession, has an arrest history that includes a gun charge in 2020, a drug possession charge in 2012 and assault and marijuana charges in 2009, police said.