ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown man is likely to spend decades in prison after he admitted Thursday to his part in a deadly armed robbery in October 2020 on the Hamilton Street bridge.
Jose Santiago, 42, on Thursday in Lehigh County Court pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Jose Santiago faces 30 to 60 years in prison, according to the county District Attorney’s Office.Lehigh County District Attorney's office release
Santiago faces 30 to 60 years in prison, according to the county District Attorney’s Office. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 16.
His guilty plea came about five weeks after his wife, Latasha Santiago, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery.
She’s to be sentenced June 3 and faces 10 to 20 years in prison.
Police on Oct. 17, 2020, were called to a shooting at the bridge in the 100 block of East Hamilton Street.
Officers found Christian Lopez-Rodriguez, 21, of Allentown, with a gunshot wound to his abdomen; he died that day at a local hospital, according to authorities.
'Cumulative and devastating'
A person walking with Lopez-Rodriguez told police they were on the Hamilton Street bridge when Santiago approached them with a handgun and told them to “run their pockets,” the district attorney’s office said in a news release.
Lopez-Rodriguez punched Santiago, who then shot him. The other robbery victim shot Santiago before he fled the area while returning fire, the release states.
Santiago minutes later showed up with a gunshot wound at a local hospital, where he turned over a handgun, according to authorities.
He was driven by his wife from the scene of the shooting to the hospital, police said.
Surveillance footage recovered from the bridge showed the deadly armed robbery, and ballistic evidence showed Santiago’s gun was used to kill Lopez-Rodriguez, the district attorney’s office said.
