Lebanon DA seeks death penalty against Torres-Santos in homicide of two boys and teen

Matthew Toth, Lebanon Daily News
Updated ·4 min read

The Lebanon County District Attorney said she will seek the death penalty against one of the alleged shooters in a triple homicide Tuesday morning.

The district attorney's office has filed a Notice of Aggravating Circumstances against Alex Torres-Santos, 22, for his involvement in a shooting on the 400 Block of N. 5th St. that killed two children and a 19-year-old.

Filing the notice is statutorily mandated in cases where the prosecution intends to seek the death penalty, officials said in a release Friday.

“In my fourteen years as a Lebanon County prosecutor and in my nearly four years as the District Attorney, we have not filed a Death Penalty Notice in any case,” District Attorney Pier Hess Graf stated in the release. “No other murder committed during my time as the D.A. has risen to the specific legal standard necessary to seek death for the killer. This case meets that standard.”

Police are still looking for a third suspect involved in a triple homicide that involved two children Tuesday, Lebanon District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said in a press conference Thursday morning. "There are three people involved with the shooting," she said. "Two are in custody, two are charged identically."
Police are still looking for a third suspect involved in a triple homicide that involved two children Tuesday, Lebanon District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said in a press conference Thursday morning. "There are three people involved with the shooting," she said. "Two are in custody, two are charged identically."

Torres-Santos, 22, and James Fernandez-Reyes, 16, were arrested Wednesday morning after the Lebanon County SWAT team executed a search warrant on the 400 block of N. 9th Street. Police are still seeking a third suspect they believe are involved in this shooting.

Two arrested: Third suspect sought in Lebanon fatal shooting of two boys and teen

Sebastian Perez-Salome, 9, Jesus Perez-Salome, 8, and Joshua Lugo-Perez, 19, were killed in Tuesday's shooting.

Torres-Santos and Fernandez-Reyes have been charged with three counts of criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, along with various gun-related offenses. Torres-Santos and Fernandez-Reyes also were charged with one count of aggravated assault for Louis Cancel, 33, of Lebanon, who was hit in the next-door residence by a stray bullet during the shooting.

Police located multiple .223 rifle rounds and 9mm shell casings that showed at least 27 gunshots fired at the North 5th Street home Tuesday. Officials said these shots came from two different caliber firearms.

A search of Torres-Santos' and Fernandez-Reyes' residence Wednesday revealed multiple firearms, including an AR-15 and a secondary weapon, which officials said was consistent with the shell casings located at the scene.

Only homicides in which the Commonwealth can prove “aggravating factors” as specified by the legislature are eligible for punishment by the death penalty, the district attorney's office said in Friday's release.

The notice against Torres-Stamos alleges five of those statutorily defined aggravating factors, including the multiple nature of the homicides, two victims who were under the age of 12 at the time of their murder, and the grave risk to others posed by the defendant’s actions in a densely occupied city neighborhood.

A memorial was set up on the front porch of where the shooting took place, June 1.
A memorial was set up on the front porch of where the shooting took place, June 1.

A death penalty jury trial includes two trial phases. the first phase is the original trial. If the defendant is found guilty of first-degree murder, the case proceeds to a second phase for sentencing.

At that time, the district attorney presents evidence to prove the aggravating factors justifying the death penalty. The defendant has the opportunity to present evidence of why he should not be put to death. The jury then determines if the defendant’s ultimate punishment is life imprisonment or death.

Graf said the process to consider the death penalty in this case was "lengthy and costly."

"To those who second guess today’s decision, we did not make it easily nor did we take the decision lightly," she said. "There are some crimes – crimes like this one where young children were shot to death outside of their home as they innocently played with their kittens – that demand we charge accordingly.”

Before being arrested Wednesday, Torres-Santos was on house arrest on bail for two separate incidents, which included violent behavior with firearms. This included allegedly striking a resident multiple times and possessing crack cocaine with intent to deliver. In February, police responded for a report of a gunshot victim, and the same man told officers he was shot again in the leg by Torres-Santos, an affidavit states.

Santos was ordered to wear a house-arrest bracelet. Officials said he wore the bracelet to the shooting Tuesday night, according to Lebanon County Probation Services.

Torres-Santos bail: Triple homicide suspect was on bail for allegedly shooting same man on 2 separate occasions

Bail protests: 20 protest lowering of bail for triple homicide suspect at District Judge Figueroa's office

Torres-Santos and Fernandez-Reyes are currently being held without bail at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility. A third suspect in the case was being sought by police as of Friday afternoon.

The Lebanon City Police Department, the Lebanon County District Attorney's Office and Detective Bureau, the Pennsylvania State Police and other Lebanon County police departments assisted in the investigation.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Lebanon City Police Department at (717) 272-6611 or Crime Stoppers at (717) 270-9800.

This investigation is ongoing. Please check back with the Lebanon Daily News for updates.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon DA seeks death penalty against Torres-Santos in triple homicide