ROCHESTER, NY — Police are seeking public assistance in locating a man wanted on bench warrants stemming from a February shooting and subsequent drug arrest.
Juan Velazquez, 47, of Rochester, was released Feb. 27 with non-monetary conditions but allegedly failed to comply, according to the Rochester Police Department.
A bench warrant was issued for his arrest Feb. 28.
Velazquez is known to frequent an apartment building in the 1600 block of N. Clinton Avenue, police said.
The warrants stem from two separate incidents.
On Feb. 1 around 1:40 a.m., officers responded to the 1600 block of N. Clinton Avenue for a report of a man shot in an apartment building stairwell.
The victim, a man in his 40s, suffered at least one gunshot wound to the upper body and was transported to Strong Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Detectives identified Velazquez as the suspected shooter.
On Feb. 25, the Rochester Police Department’s SWAT Team executed a search warrant at an apartment in the building and took Velazquez into custody.
During the search, detectives located a loaded Rock Island M200 revolver and quantities of suspected cocaine and fentanyl.
Velazquez was arraigned Feb. 26 in CAP Court and held without bail.
He currently faces bench warrants for criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degree and assault in the second degree from the Feb. 1 shooting.
Additional warrants include criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal use of drug paraphernalia in the second degree from the Feb. 25 arrest.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call 911.
