Juan Luis Ortiz-Santiago, a 29-year-old male, was fatally shot on September 1, 2015, while at his job at a barbershop on Niagara Street in Buffalo, New York. The incident, which marked the city's 20th homicide of the year, occurred in broad daylight when a gunman entered the establishment and opened fire. Ortiz-Santiago was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was engaged to be married and was remembered by loved ones as a great father and a caring individual who was turning his life around.
The investigation into the shooting led to the arrest of one individual, Victor Martinez, who was charged in connection with the murder. However, police indicated that Martinez was not the gunman and that they were actively searching for a second suspect. The motive for the shooting appeared to be retaliation for an earlier dispute.
Further developments in the case revealed that the gunman was Luis Olivera-Arvelo, also known as 'Chino'. In April 2016, Olivera-Arvelo, then 25, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. He admitted to shooting Ortiz-Santiago in retaliation for an incident that had occurred just ten minutes prior, in which Ortiz-Santiago had allegedly threatened him with a machete. Following his guilty plea, Olivera-Arvelo faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. He was scheduled to be sentenced in May 2016. The resolution of the case was brought about by the investigative work of the Buffalo Police Department's Homicide Squad.
