On December 2, 2025, Rafiel Sanz, an 18-year-old Dominican male from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was fatally shot during an incident in Freeland, Luzerne County. The violence erupted in the early morning hours outside a business located along Centre Street. During the same altercation, a 15-year-old male was also struck by gunfire, sustaining a wound to the leg.
Emergency responders transported Sanz to Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Hazleton, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The younger victim survived the shooting.
Law enforcement officers quickly launched a homicide investigation that led to multiple arrests in the days following the death. The first suspect identified was 24-year-old Edgar Polanco of Hazleton, who authorities alleged acted as a lookout during the crime. He was taken into custody on December 3 and charged with conspiracy to commit criminal homicide. Shortly thereafter, police arrested 19-year-old Jhoan Solano Castillo, charging him with criminal homicide and conspiracy to commit criminal homicide. Both men were denied bail and detained in Luzerne County.
As the investigation continued into the second week of December, state police announced charges against four additional suspects. Lysander Josue Pichardo, Waili Bonilla, Wally Javier Barrera Torres, and Emmanuel Franklin Feliz were all charged with criminal homicide and conspiracy to commit criminal homicide. Bonilla, Barrera Torres, and Feliz were arraigned and held without bail in Luzerne County. Officials reported that Pichardo was apprehended in New Jersey and held there pending extradition proceedings to Pennsylvania to face charges related to the deadly shooting.
