In the early morning hours of November 19, 2022, the life of 35-year-old Alexis Mercedes was tragically cut short. The male victim was at a house party on Lochner Place in Rochester, New York, when he was fatally shot. When Rochester Police Officers responded to a call for a shooting at approximately 3:00 AM, they discovered Mr. Mercedes inside the residence with a gunshot wound to his head.
He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The investigation into the homicide led authorities to identify Jorge Santana-Torres as the perpetrator. Following the shooting, Santana-Torres fled the state of New York in an attempt to evade capture. In May of the following year, a coordinated effort between Rochester Police investigators and the United States Marshals Violent Felony Fugitive Task Force tracked him to Middletown, Ohio. It was there that Santana-Torres was apprehended and arrested for the murder of Alexis Mercedes.
After his apprehension, Jorge Santana-Torres was brought to trial. A jury convicted him of Murder in the 2nd Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 2nd Degree for his role in the death of Alexis Mercedes. On March 20, 2024, 36-year-old Jorge Santana-Torres was sentenced by a New York State Supreme Court Justice to a term of 25 years to life in the New York State Department of Corrections, bringing a measure of closure to a violent and senseless act.
