Man extradited to Arizona in connection to Casa Grande double homicide
Terrance Xavier Santistevan, 18, was extradited from Texas to Arizona after he was arrested in connection to the death of two teenagers in Casa Grande.
Santistevan was located in Pflugerville, Texas, with help from the U.S. Marshals Service and was arrested on April 30 without incident. He was extradited to Pinal County on Tuesday, according to the Casa Grande Police Department.
Danielle Murrieta, 17, and Leslie Cota, 18, died on April 24 in a shooting at The Sonoran Apartments near Florence Boulevard and Pottebaum Road, according to Casa Grande police.
When officers arrived on scene, they found both had multiple gunshot wounds and detectives found almost 30 handgun casings in the area, police said.
Cota was pronounced dead at the scene and Murrieta was taken to a hospital where she died. The two were friends, police said.
Santistevan was arrested after police learned he was there the night of the homicide and owned the Chrysler 300 vehicle officials believed a suspect may have fled in, according to a news release.
Two charges of first-degree murder for Santistevan will be reviewed by the Pinal County Attorney’s Office.
"Our detectives and other members of our department worked together around the clock to develop leads and simultaneously follow up on numerous tips presented during this investigation ... I would like to thank members of the victims' families and our city leadership for not engaging in the social media frenzy involving this case and having the faith to allow our detectives to do their job," Casa Grande Police Chief Mark McCrory said.
Santistevan was booked into Pinal County Jail on Tuesday and faces charges of first-degree murder. His bond has been set at $750,000.
Detectives were still searching for a 2006 silver Chrysler 300 with the Arizona license plate 9DA2MG.
Police are asking anyone with information on the vehicle or the shooting to contact detective T. Ellsworth at Tellsworth@casagrandeaz.gov or 520-421-8711 ext. 6294. People can also make an anonymous report to Silent Witness at 520-836-2100.
Republic reporter Angela Cordoba Perez contributed to this article.
Reach breaking news reporter Amaris Encinas at amaris.encinas@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @amarisencinas.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man arrested, extradited to AZ in connection to Casa Grande homicide
