A man has been sentenced for murdering two teenage girls in Casa Grande in 2022.
Terrance Santistevan, 21, was sentenced to two consecutive natural sentences in jail without the possibility of parole for the killings of the girls, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office stated on Friday.
A jury convicted Santistevan of two charges of first-degree murder last month.
Leslie Cota, 18, and Danielle Murrieta, 17, were shot in April 2022 at Casa Grande’s Sonoran Apartment complex. Cota died instantly, while Murrieta was airlifted to the hospital where she eventually passed away.
According to the Pinal County Attorney, Santistevan and another person were participating in a people-smuggling enterprise. When Santistevan was not given the money he believed he was owed, he sought vengeance, murdering the two victims rather than his intended target.
According to reports, Santistevan fired over two dozen 9mm rounds from a modified Glock handgun that was fully automatic.
Several days later, authorities in Texas detained Santistevan as part of a joint investigation with the Casa Grande authorities department, the United States Marshals Service, and the Pflugerville Police Department, located north of Austin.
“We are grateful to the victims’ families for being so patient and supportive in this process and thankful to everyone at Casa Grande Police Department, our office’s investigators, staff and victim advocates Raegan Wittig and Jesus Pacheco, and our expert witnesses for their incredibly hard work on the case,” said Prosecutor Shawn Jensvold.
“These were calculated, cold-blooded murders stemming from a human smuggling operation,” said Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller. “The defendant showed a complete disregard for human life in pursuit of revenge. Today’s sentence ensures this violent individual will never again be free to harm another person.” County Attorney Miller wanted to highlight comments from a victim impact statement, “There is no victory in the loss of two innocent lives. Nothing about this moment is victorious when two beautiful girls were taken from this world in the most horrific way. This isn’t victory, this is merely the bare minimum one should expect for a remorseless individual that has shattered families and left us with nothing but memories to replay and the heartache of a lifetime. He took everything from these girls and now he should be reminded of the lives he stole and the pain he caused, because that’s the only form of real justice we will be able to receive. Let today be a reminder to you to never take a moment for granted.”
