Allentown Autozone Shooter Sentenced For Attempted Murder: DA

A man who shot at multiple people in an Allentown parking lot last year will spend up to 15 years in prison, prosecutors say.

Autozone, 1871 S. 5th Street; Allentown police.
Photo Credit: *Google Maps (Street View) / Allentown PD*

Mac Bullock

06/21/2024 5:26 p.m.

Joshua Ortiz, 28, pleaded guilty to attempted murder in April, said the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.

Authorities have said Ortiz and 22-year-old Edgar Gonzalez got into an argument with another group last June 4. Ortiz and Gonzalez were in a sedan that followed the other group to the South Fifth Street Autozone parking lot, according to officials.

They blocked the victims from driving away before Ortiz got out of his sedan and opened fire at them with a handgun, prosecutors said.

One of the victims returned fire, fatally shooting Gonzalez and wounding Ortiz, authorities said.

The shooter, who prosecutors said had a legally owned handgun, was not charged because he was acting in self-defense. Neither he nor the other victims were injured in the shootout.

On Tuesday, June 18, Ortiz was sentenced to 7 to 15 years in a Pennsylvania prison.

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