On June 2nd, 2022 at about 11:00am, New Rochelle Detectives brought Percell Ross, the suspect in the October 14th Homicide of Cab Driver Andres Valenzuela, back to New Rochelle Police Headquarters for formal processing for that murder. Grand Jury Proceedings were concluded in May 2022, and Ross was indicted on the following charges:
Penal Law 125.27 Murder in the First Degree – while committing a Robbery
Penal Law 125.25 Murder in the Second Degree – intentional killing
Penal Law 125.25 Murder in the Second Degree – while committing a Robbery
Penal Law 160.15 Robbery in the First Degree - cause serious physical injury
Penal Law 160.15 Robbery in the First Degree – armed with deadly weapon
Penal Law 265.03 Criminal Possession of a Weapon– with intent to use
After being formally processed in New Rochelle, Ross was transported to the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains for arraignment on the aforementioned charges in front of Judge George Fufidio. After arraignment Ross was transported back to the Metropolitan Detention Facility in Brooklyn, NY, by Detectives Timothy Adrian and John Ladeairous, who were the lead investigators on this case.
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Homicide Suspect Located and Arrested
On October 17th, 2021, after an exhaustive and extensive investigation, in collaboration with the FBI SafeStreets Task Force and the Westchester County Police Real Time Crime Center, New Rochelle Police and the FBI conducted surveillance on a housing project apartment complex in Brooklyn where the suspect of the October 14th Cab Driver Homicide was believed to be.
At about 10:30am New Rochelle Police Detectives located the suspect in the courtyard of the complex and attempted to apprehend him. As the police identified themselves and ordered him to stop, the suspect began shooting at the police and attempted to flee on foot. The suspect continued to shoot at police in various directions as they converged on him. Several officers returned fire. The suspect ultimately surrendered when he ran out of ammunition. No one was injured in the gun fire.
The suspect was taken into custody by New Rochelle Detectives and then turned over to the FBI. He is facing federal charges in addition to the murder charge for killing Andres Valenzuela on October 14th in New Rochelle. The gun used today to shoot at the police was a .22 caliber revolver and is believed to be the same weapon used in the Cab Driver Homicide. It was taken into evidence and a ballistics check is forthcoming.
Arrested: Percell Lamont Ross, 52 years of age, of Covington, Virginia, to be charged with Homicide as well as multiple other charges stemming from today’s incident. Ross is a wanted Fugitive from Justice in Connecticut for Attempted Murder and for Sex Trafficking in Virginia.
Homicide: Additional Information
Victim: Andres Valenzuela, 62 years of age, of New Rochelle, NY.
Mr. Valenzuela was finishing his shift as a Taxi Driver and was parking his cab when this incident occurred.
Anyone with any information that may be of assistance to investigators is asked to call the New Rochelle Police Department’s main line: 914-654-2300.
Homicide
On October 14th, 2021, at about 2:50am, New Rochelle Police, while on patrol, observed a man down on the ground in the parking lot of Juliano’s Caterers located at 700 Main Street. Officers went to assist and found a 62-year-old male, New Rochelle resident, with 2 apparent gun shot wounds. He was treated and transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. This is an open investigation and Detectives are currently working on the case. The name of the victim is being withheld at this time. Anyone with information about this incident can contact the New Rochelle Police Department at 914-654-2300. Further information will be released when available.