(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Three men have been charged with the horrific murder in connection with the brutal killing of Bernardo Pantaleon, a 30-year-old gay man, the Arizona Republic reported on Tuesday.
The men, identified as Leonardo Santiago, 21, Manuel Carrasco Calderon, 21, and Jose Rodriguez, 20, were taken into custody by Phoenix police officers. A fourth man, Christopher Ibarra, was apprehended on Monday in connection with the alleged killing.
Pantelon’s family described the harrowing ordeal the victim faced before his passing and mentioned receiving photos of the horrifically mutilated body of the victim.
“He was brutally attacked, and there was a trail of blood all over where they had found him, meaning that he had to run for his life and tried to get safe. He couldn’t make it,” said Anai Pantaleon, a cousin of the deceased man.
A fourth Latino man has been arrested in Phoenix, Ariz. over the brutal murder of a gay man on a trail near Mountain View Park last month. The victim had been shot, beaten and mutilated.
Suspect names from left to right: Christopher Ibarra, Jose Rodriguez, Leonardo Santiago and… pic.twitter.com/mvYYVklDcs
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) December 7, 2023
Prosecutors stated that the man was shot several times and subsequently cut with a knife. Days after the alleged murder, Pantaleon’s family received disturbing photos of his dead body.
Investigators identified the sender’s account as belonging to Rodriguez. A search warrant revealed conversations suggesting that the murder was planned.
The accused men are purported members of the North Side 15th Avenue street gang and allegedly discussed robbing and killing the 30-year-old. They also targeted Pantaleon’s sexual orientation in unveiled text messages.
A day after Pantaleon was killed, Calderon and Rodriguez allegedly went to the murder scene, where police said they mutilated the body. Santiago reportedly admitted he killed Pantaleon because of a supposed unwanted sexual advance.
The Arizona Republic reported that Santiago was charged with first-degree murder. Calderon and Rodriguez were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Santiago and Calderon are facing charges of crimes against a deceased person. The outlet stated that they are all charged with assisting a street gang.
The Pantelon family created a GoFundMe to raise money to help in the prosecution of the accused perpetrators.
“He will be missed and didn’t deserve to suffer the way he did,” the page read. “We are asking the public for any information to help us get the justice he deserves.”
During court proceedings, a prosecutor detailed the horrific ordeal.
“The charges that have been outlined by the affiants speak for themselves. What the court cannot see is the horrific mutilation that this defendant caused on the victim’s body and the apparent joy that he and his codefendant who is up next derived from inflicting this brutality on this deceased victim whom the codefendants just an hour earlier savagely murdered,” a prosecutor said, according to Fox10.
