A teenager arrested in Pennsylvania last week for triple murder may have been involved in an unsolved 2022 murder of a 12-year-old.
Police say that the suspect, identified as Fernandez-Reyes, 16, is a potential suspect in the November killing of Juan Lopez, 12, in Rochester, according to News 10.
Fernandez-Reyes, along with 22-year-old Alex Torres Santos, was arrested last week for the fatal shooting of two young children aged 8 and 9, as well as 19-year-old Joshua Lugo-Perez in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
The incident transpired on May 30, following an altercation between Fernandez-Reyes and Lugo-Perez. The two children, identified as 8-year-old Jesus Perez-Salome and Sebastian Perez-Salome, 9, were playing with kittens outside, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Reyes also had an active warrant in Rochester, New York, for illegal gun possession. Rochester Police reported his previous arrest for an illegal handgun in September but he fled after receiving an appearance ticket.
Police said Juan was shot while walking on Atkinson Street and left to die on the sidewalk. RPD stated that their Major Crimes Unit is actively investigating Juan’s murder and coordinating with law enforcement officials in Lebanon.
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf on Friday said he intends to seek the death penalty against Torres Santos for his role in the Salome boys’ murders, Fox 43 reports.
“In my 14 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,” Graf said in a written statement, according to Fox 43.
“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.”
The boys’ mother was working nearby and heard the gunshots, prompting her to run over to the home on Tuesday evening.
“She’s in shock and is unable to speak coherently,” Felix Muniz Torres, the boys’ uncle, told CBS News of the children’s mother.
Muniz Torres said his nephews were “very innocent and polite” and always played together, adding that “they were very close,” according to CBS News.
Investigators believe that the alleged shooters targeted Lugo-Perez because of an earlier argument. His body was found on the back porch and it appeared he had tried to flee the gunfire.
Lugo-Perez and the boys lived in the house, but he was not related to them. There were at least 27 gunshots and two guns involved. A 33-year-old neighbor was also hit by a stray bullet but is expected to survive.
At the time of the shooting, Santos was out on bail on charges of aggravated assault, weapons, and drug charges. He was required to wear an ankle bracelet and was under house arrest.
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[Feature Photo: Jesus and Sebastian Perez-Salome/GoFundMe; Juan Lopez/Family Handout]
