Authorities say the 24-year-old suspect was taken into custody more than two months after a New Year’s Day road-rage shooting in the Bronx.
NEW YORK — A man accused of fatally shooting a Bronx Uber driver during a road-rage confrontation on New Year’s Day has been captured in the Dominican Republic, according to local television reports citing Dominican police, marking a major break in one of New York City’s first homicide cases of 2026.
The arrest centers on Ehinel Troncoso, 24, who police identified earlier this year as the suspect in the killing of 55-year-old Issa Isac-Mbolo, a father of four and rideshare driver. The case drew wide attention in New York because investigators said the shooting followed what appeared to be a minor traffic dispute and because the suspect was believed to have fled the country soon after the attack.
Investigators say the violence unfolded early Jan. 1 in the Morris Heights and Mount Hope area of the Bronx, near Morris Avenue and the Cross Bronx Expressway. Police responded just before 7 a.m. to a report of a man shot inside a vehicle and found Isac-Mbolo with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Emergency workers pronounced him dead at the scene. In the days that followed, police said the shooting appeared to have grown out of a road-rage clash after a minor collision. Fernando Mateo, speaking for the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers at a news conference after the killing, said a witness told the group the suspect had come from a nearby bar, noticed damage to his car and then opened fire after the confrontation turned violent.
News 12 reported this week that Dominican Republic National Police captured Troncoso. The station said the suspect had been sought in connection with the death of Isac-Mbolo, whom relatives described as a hardworking husband and father. Earlier reporting by ABC7 and other New York outlets said the NYPD released a photo of Troncoso as the search intensified. The taxi drivers’ federation also announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. At the time, Mateo said a source had told the group the suspect may have gone to the Dominican Republic, a lead that appeared to gain new weight once the reported arrest was announced. The NYPD had not publicly released fuller details on the custody operation or the exact circumstances of how authorities located him.
The killing shook drivers and immigrant communities in the Bronx. Isac-Mbolo was described by family members and industry representatives as a longtime driver who was supporting his household through overnight and holiday work. Local reports after the shooting identified him as an immigrant from West Africa and a veteran rideshare driver. The death also stood out because it came within hours of the start of 2026 and was widely described in local coverage as New York City’s first homicide of the new year. That timing, together with the image of a driver killed in his car after what authorities said was a traffic dispute, helped turn the case into a symbol of the risks workers face on the road.
What happens next will likely depend on extradition and formal court steps in New York. As of the latest local reports, the NYPD had not publicly detailed when Troncoso might be returned to the city or what timetable prosecutors expect for arraignment if he is extradited. Police had already identified him as the wanted suspect in the homicide investigation, but the public record described in local coverage did not yet spell out every charge then pending in court. The next major milestone is expected to be an official announcement from New York authorities confirming the arrest, outlining the transfer process and stating when the suspect is expected to appear before a judge.
For the victim’s relatives, the reported arrest appears to bring some movement in a case that had left them publicly grieving and demanding justice. In a prior interview with News 12, Isac-Mbolo’s brother said the family was overwhelmed by anger and frustration after the killing. Taxi and rideshare advocates had also kept public attention on the investigation, saying drivers wanted accountability in a case they viewed as both deeply personal and broadly unsettling. The combination of a family’s public grief, a labor group’s reward offer and a suspected flight overseas made the search unusually visible for a local homicide case.
As of Friday, March 13, 2026, the suspect’s reported capture in the Dominican Republic is the biggest confirmed development in the case since police publicly identified him in January. The next key step is an official update from the NYPD or prosecutors on extradition and initial court proceedings in New York.
Author note: Last updated March 13, 2026.