More than five years after Guy Van Lew was gunned down on a Yonkers street corner, police are putting $10,000 behind an appeal for answers. Van Lew was fatally shot around 9:15 p.m. on July 17, 2021, near the intersection of Spruce Street and Cliff Street, and the case has remained unsolved ever since.
The Yonkers Police Department announced the reward on Friday for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case, according to Daily Voice. Police said detectives have continued working on the case since the night Van Lew was killed, even as the investigation stretched past the five-year mark without a resolution.
Commissioner Calls for Community Help
Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza framed the reward as a direct appeal to residents who may be sitting on information. “Our Detectives have worked tirelessly on Mr. Van Lew's murder for more than five years, but this is one where we need our community's help,” Sapienza said, per the same report.
Police urged anyone with information about the shooting to come forward, regardless of how minor it may seem. The department believes someone in the community may hold details that could help identify who killed Van Lew, and investigators are hoping the cash incentive will finally shake loose a lead that's eluded them since 2021.
How to Submit a Tip
Anyone with information can contact the Yonkers Police Detective Division at 914-377-7724. Tips can also be submitted by texting “YPD” followed by the tip to 274637.
This isn't the first time Yonkers police have turned to a cash reward to crack a cold case. In May 2019, the department offered — and then doubled — a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect in the fatal shooting of Marilyn Cotto Montanez, according to The Journal News/lohud. For now, Van Lew's case remains open, with police banking on the possibility that someone who has stayed quiet for more than five years is finally ready to talk.
