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Carlos Almanzar-Torres, now 23, who brutally killed Damian Santiago, 19, at the Sunoco located at 111 West Orange Street around 10 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 11, 2022. He was sentenced on Jan. 23 after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.
“We are here for the actions of an angry man,” prosecuting Assistant District Attorney CJ Restemayer said during the proceeding. “This is a man who hunted another human being and tried to shoot him five times. He then punched the victim multiple times as he laid dying. On that day, he ended two lives: Damian Santiago’s and his own.” Restemayer further stated the killing stemmed from a dispute over $50 and a fist fight."
The argument was over money Almanzar-Torres had allegedly loaned Santiago for a phone bill — that he never repaid, an officer 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 was unclear how it happened, the initial DA release explained.
"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 original 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 explained.
Santiago had died from the gunshot wound before Almanzar-Torres began punching him, the Lancaster County coroner’s office determined.
Almanzar-Torres was sentenced by President Judge David Ashworth Thursday to mandatory life without the possibility of parole plus 20 months to 4 years, the DA said.
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