Nearly eight years after two men were fatally shot during a late-night altercation at a private Halloween party in East Palo Alto, the suspect, who reportedly fled to Mexico after the shooting, has returned to face justice.
The shooting happened around 3 am on October 14, 2018 outside an East Palo Alto auto shop, A-1 Auto Service & Towing on Pulgas Avenue. The party was described as a pre-Halloween birthday party, and four people were shot in the melee. Two young men were killed: 22-year-old Eduardo "Lalo" Alvarado Sandoval and 23-year-old Mario Andres Vidales Mendez.
The families of both men have been calling for justice for their murders ever since, and the Palo Alto-based organization Mothers Against Murder put up a $20,000 reward in late 2020 to try to bring attention to the case.
Authorities at the time said that they had identified a suspect, Julian Rico Santana, but he was nowhere to be found. Until now.
As ABC 7 reports, a suspect — Santana is not named in the report, however the Palo Alto Daily Post and Palo Alto Online both identify him — was taken into custody recently in Mexico with the help of US Marshals, and was extradited back to the United States.
Santana, who is said to be either 25 or 26, was set to make a court appearance in San Mateo County on Monday, but that was postponed until today, per ABC 7.
He was being held in jail in Redwood City on charges of murder and attempted murder.
It's unclear how old Santana was at the time of the shooting — if he is in fact 25 now, he may have been 17 or 18 at the time.
Veronica Sandoval, the mother of one of the victims, put out a statement following the news of Rico's arrest, saying, "My son went to a party and never came home. For eight years, we have lived with unimaginable pain, waiting and praying for this day." She said she planned to be in court to face her son's suspected killer, "for our son, for our family, and for the justice he deserves."
Margaret Petros, executive director of Mothers Against Murder, tells Palo Alto Online that the arrest is "long overdue."
Related: $20K Reward Offered for Help Finding Suspect In 2018 Double-Murder In East Palo Alto
