In the winter of 2022, on the evening of Friday, December 9th, the life of 30-year-old James Jeffrey Diggs Jr. of Lititz, Pennsylvania, was cut short by gunfire. The incident unfolded around 11:34 p.m. in the area of Ruby Street and Prangley Avenue in Lancaster. Responding to reports of shots fired, Lancaster Bureau of Police officers arrived to find a grim scene. Diggs lay dead, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Not far from the scene, a trail of blood led officers to a home on the 400 block of Ruby Street where they discovered a teenager who had also been shot multiple times. The teen was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was reported to be in stable condition.
The investigation into the shooting revealed a complex situation that was not a random act of violence. It was determined that Diggs' death occurred during a botched robbery involving a stolen handgun. Two Lancaster city men, Luis Javier Rivera and Jorge Luis Santiago, along with Diggs, had arranged to meet a 17-year-old juvenile under the pretense of trading a gun. However, their true intention was to rob the juvenile of the stolen firearm.
During the attempted robbery, a physical altercation ensued. Diggs, armed with a separate firearm, shot the juvenile twice. In response, the juvenile fired the stolen handgun, striking Diggs five times and killing him. The investigation concluded that the juvenile acted in self-defense, and as a result, he was not charged with Diggs' death. The juvenile did admit to police that he had stolen the handgun from a vehicle earlier that day.
Following the investigation, Luis Javier Rivera, 23, and Jorge Luis Santiago, 26, were charged in connection with the incident. Rivera faced charges of aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, robbery, criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, and criminal use of a communication facility. Santiago was charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, robbery, and criminal conspiracy to commit robbery. The case was set to be prosecuted by the First Deputy Assistant District Attorney.
