Crime28 May, 20263 min read
Randy Santos Sentenced To 40 Years To Life For Bludgeoning Four Sleeping Homeless Men In Chinatown
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Convicted in February of four first-degree murder counts for four sleeping homeless men in Chinatown. Sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
Santos sentenced for killings
Randy Santos was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder for bludgeoning four sleeping homeless men with a metal bar on New York City streets in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood in 2019.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Alfred Peterson told Judge Laura A. Ward, “There are no victim impact statements here today. There’s nobody here to tell this court about their lives and how their absence is a loss,” as the court heard no friends or relatives speak on behalf of the victims.
The ABC News account said Santos pleaded for a sentence short enough to allow him to “be somebody” after prison, and he told the judge his mind “is much better now” with daily medication.
Prosecutors said Santos repeatedly lifted a 4-foot (1.2 meter) bar over a victim’s head and brought it down, and they said police later found Santos carrying the bar covered with blood and hair.
Outside the courtroom, Chinatown activist Karlin Chan said the sentencing gives the community closure, telling the court, “He knew what he was doing,” as Santos sat between court-appointed lawyers listening through headphones.
Prosecution, defense clash
District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in prepared remarks, “The chilling murders committed by Randy Santos shook New York City,” and he described the victims as “completely defenseless and unable to protect themselves.”
Santos’ lawyers argued at trial that he suffers from schizophrenia and that he was too mentally ill to be held criminally responsible, with defense attorneys seeking a sentence of 20 years to life behind bars.
Legal Aid Society attorney Arnold Levine said Santos wants to use his time in prison to take English classes and learn a trade, and he told the court, “It gives him hope. It gives him goals,” as he argued for a meaningful chance to improve.
Judge Laura Ward said she had “a difficult time getting past the fact that Mr. Santos targeted the most vulnerable people in our society,” and she said she watched the videos before balancing rehabilitation and retribution.
Defense attorneys Levine and Marnie Zien said afterward that they plan to appeal, arguing that “the Randy who was sentenced today bears little resemblance by virtually any measure to the man who committed those crimes in 2019.”
What comes next
The sentencing decision followed prosecutors’ request that Justice Laura Ward impose 50 years to life, while defense attorneys asked for 20 years to life, with the judge ultimately sentencing Santos to 40 years to life. The Spectrum News NY1 account said Santos was also found guilty of attempted murder for bludgeoning a fifth man during the spree and for attacking a sixth man in Chelsea a week earlier, expanding the case beyond the four deaths. The ABC News account said Santos was convicted in February of first-degree murder and also convicted of attempted murder for assaults that left two other men severely injured, and it described victims ranging in age from 39 to 83.
“The prosecutor asked Justice Laura Ward to sentence Santos to 50 years to life.”
Gothamist reported that Santos’ defense attorneys said he used to assault people on Rikers Island but has not gotten into a single fight since he received treatment at a psychiatric hospital several years ago, and Levine said, “He is not incorrigible,” adding, “He is not beyond redemption.” In the courtroom, Peterson said the case was “a study in how the life of a young man can go off track so horribly,” and Ward described Santos’ case as the “coming together of three horrible symptoms of this city: homelessness, mental illness and narcotics abuse.”