By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — The man who survived 21 shots in a Harlem police shootout that left one man dead won't be charged with attempted homicide, prosecutors said Monday.
Instead, Angel Alvarez, 23, faces three counts of weapons possession, even though police arrested him Saturday on attempted murder when he was released from Harlem Hospital.
"These charges are based on the evidence we have today," said Erin Duggan, a Manhattan District Attorney spokesperson, adding that "the investigation is open and active."
Police and witnesses said Alvarez, who has a 2005 weapons possession conviction, sparked an Aug. 8 gun battle that killed 21-year-old Luis Soto when "a feud that had been simmering" for weeks turned violent at a cookout on Lenox Avenue, between 143rd and 144th streets.
When Alvarez got the upper hand in the fight, Soto allegedly reached for a gun in his waistband, prompting a struggle. Police on the scene said Alvarez grabbed the .38 revolver and fired it at police before the officers fired 46 times.
One plainclothes officer was shot in the chest and saved by his bullet-proof vest. Another was shot in the hand.
The bullet that killed Soto in the melee was fired by police, prosecutors said Monday.
The only gun on the scene was found resting in Alvarez's right hand, Assistant District Attorney Jon Viega said.
"There is no evidence that any other gun was recovered from the scene," the ADA said at Alvarez's arraignment.
An attorney for Alvarez said that the .38 revolver cited in Alvarez's charges belonged to Soto and said he was "ashamed" that the DA's office filed these charges based on the evidence available.
According to the lawyer, Matthew Galluzzo, Soto shot Alvarez twice before Alvarez wrestled the gun from his hands.
When he took possession of the gun he was struggling to defend himself, Galluzzo argued.
"Anything he did at that point was a justifiable act of self-defense to protect his life from Mr. Soto," he added.
Alvarez was held without bail and is expected to return to court on Thursday.
