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Carlos Almanzar-Torres, 21, had argued with Damian Santiago, 19, before and chasing Santiago around the gas station located at 111 West Orange Street around 10 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 11, Lancaster City bureau police said multiple releases in the days that followed.
New details about that deadly encounter have emerged partially thanks to five minutes of footage from surveillance footage taken at the Sunoco/A-Plus which was released during a preliminary hearing on Thursday, Mar. 31, according to a release by the Lancaster County district attorney's office.
In it, Almanzar-Torres and Santiago are seen arriving shortly before 10 p.m. — but "the meetup was coincidental and unplanned," Detective Burgett testified. The video shows the men arguing outside of the gas station, which eventually continued into the store.
The argument was over money Almanzar-Torres had allegedly loaned Santiago for a phone bill— that he never repaid, Burgett testified.
While in the store, Santiago is supposedly seen throwing the first punch— hitting Almanzar-Torres in the head— causing them both to fall to the floor, according to the DA's description of the video footage.
During the tussle, Almanzar-Torres fired a gun— but the footage is unclear how it happened, the release explains.
The pair returned to their feet, but Almanzar-Torres continued to hold the gun, unjamming it, before pointing it at Santiago— who was now in the back of the store in an aisle away from him, according to the release.
"Almanzar-Torres moved parallel to Santiago with an aisle separating them. He raised the gun over the aisle and fired a single shot, which hit Santiago in the shoulder, went through his lung, and stopped in his heart," according to testimony.
Almanzar-Torres "then punched the victim multiple times after he collapsed before leaving the store," as stated in the release.
Almanzar-Torres turned himself in at the Lancaster City bureau of police station "with his arms raised, stating he wanted to speak with police and that there was a firearm in the front seat of his car parked on the street," the DA explains.
Santiago had died from the gunshot wound before Almanzar-Torres began punching him, the Lancaster County coroner’s office determined.
Almanzar-Torres’ formal arraignment is scheduled for April 29 at 9 a.m. before a judge to be determined.
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