VPD homicide investigation leads to arrest of 2023 DTES stabbing suspect

Police say a homicide investigation has led to the arrest of a suspect in relation to the murder of a man in the Downtown Eastside last year.

In a release Wednesday, the Vancouver Police Department says the investigation was initiated on Sept. 28, 2023, following 44-year-old Rickey Martinez’s fatal stabbing near Carral and East Hastings Street.

Officers were called to the area around 5:15 a.m. for a man “who had been assaulted and was badly injured.”

Martinez was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries. He was identified as the victim several weeks after the incident on Oct. 11, 2023.

After an 11-month investigation by the Vancouver Police Homicide Unit, the BC Prosecution Service approved one count of second-degree murder against 39-year-old Hevert Solis Moreno, who was arrested by VPD Wednesday.

Police say the suspect is now in custody.