Alexis Candelario Santana, 51, faces life in prison following his conviction of murdering eight people and an unborn child and attempting to murder 19 others during a mass shooting that occurred at a pub in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, on October 17, 2009.
The conviction stems from Candelario Santana’s role as the leader of a drug trafficking organization that operated in the Sabana Seca ward of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, from approximately 1993 through 2003.
The organization purchased drugs in bulk, processed and packaged the drugs, and sold them in Sabana Seca through numerous sellers, runners, and enforcers under Candelario Santana’s direction and control.
Candelario Santana was convicted of 28 counts of violent crime in aid of racketeering activity, one count of racketeering conspiracy, nine counts of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and one count of possession of a firearm with a prior conviction.
The La Tómbola Massacre, as it came to be known, resulted in the deaths of eight people and an 8-month unborn child, with 19 other victims shot and injured.
Candelario Santana is scheduled to be sentenced on October 27, 2023, in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Senior Judge Francisco A. Besosa presided over the retrial that commenced on June 20, 2023.
Related Federal Cases
- 20 Members of Violent Gang Charged with Drug Trafficking, Firearms Violations, Puerto Rico 2022 · Puerto Rico
- Arcadia Zorrilla Hernández, Smuggling Contraband, Puerto Rico 2019 · Puerto Rico
- Luis D. Baez-Sierra, Drug Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2022 · Puerto Rico
- Carlos Javier Figueroa, Murder, Drug Trafficking, New York 2023 · New Hampshire
- Pablo Colon-Rolon, Puerto Rico Drug Trafficking, San Juan PR, 2023 · Puerto Rico
Key Facts
- State: Puerto Rico
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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