Juan Carlos Romero, a 33-year-old Hispanic/Latino man from Hazleton, was killed in the early morning hours of October 24, 2021, after a disturbance outside Rmusic21 Lounge, also known as the Hookah Lounge, on East Centre Street in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. Police said the trouble began shortly before 3:00 a.m., when Romero and others were outside the lounge after apparently being refused entry.
What began as an argument on the sidewalk turned into gunfire in the street.
According to the court’s later summary of the case, Romero had been with Alorfi Bladimir Ramirez and others earlier that night before they went to the after-hours lounge. Outside the business, Romero and Santonio Pierre Malone got into a verbal argument. As the situation escalated, Romero called 911 for help. While Romero was still on the phone, Malone moved toward him with a handgun. Romero tried to get away, moving farther across the street from the lounge, but Malone shot him numerous times. Romero collapsed on the sidewalk across from the lounge and died before police arrived.
A second man, Alorfi Bladimir Ramirez of Hazle Township, was also shot during the same incident. Early reports said Ramirez was seriously injured and taken to Reading Hospital. Trial records later described Ramirez as being shot in the arm, torso, upper thigh and back. The violence left Romero dead in the street and Ramirez wounded and bleeding as Malone left the scene.
State police identified Malone, then 36, as the suspect shortly after the shooting. An arrest warrant was issued charging him with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault and simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, possessing an instrument of crime, and criminal attempt-criminal homicide. Authorities said Malone, also known as “Sosa,” had a last known address in Shenandoah and past ties to Mahanoy City.
Malone was not immediately captured. After investigators were unable to locate him, the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force joined the search. On January 18, 2022, marshals found him at a home on Gregory Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, and arrested him without incident. He was then turned over to Memphis police for booking and arraignment, bringing an end to a fugitive search that had stretched for nearly three months.
At trial in Schuylkill County, prosecutors presented eyewitness testimony, video evidence, and Romero’s 911 call, during which gunshots could reportedly be heard. Ramirez identified Malone as the shooter, and another witness, Tristan Wolfe, also identified him. Another person who had been outside the lounge also identified Malone, though the appellate record described that identification as reluctant. The medical testimony showed Romero suffered four gunshot wounds, including a wound that entered his heart and lungs, and the forensic pathologist concluded that Romero died from the gunshot wounds. His death was ruled a homicide.
In February 2023, a jury found Santonio Pierre Malone guilty of first-degree murder for killing Romero, attempted homicide for shooting Ramirez, and possession of an instrument of crime. In March 2023, the court sentenced Malone to life in prison for the murder conviction. He also received a consecutive sentence of 20 to 40 years for attempted homicide and another consecutive sentence of 2½ to 5 years for possession of an instrument of crime.
Malone appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, but the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the judgment of sentence in 2024. The appellate court found that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions, pointing to the eyewitness identifications, video evidence, and Romero’s 911 call. The court also granted Malone’s attorney’s request to withdraw after counsel concluded the appeal was frivolous. The result left Malone’s life sentence and consecutive prison terms in place.
