LIBERTY, Pennsylvania — Jesus Alicea-Santiago, 31, of Buffalo, NY, frequently traveled from New York to Pennsylvania to swap custody of his young child with his estranged wife Denissa Alvarez-Matias, 32, of York, PA.
On August 26, just after 3 p.m., Alicea-Santiago, 31, died in the exchange. Alicea-Santiago was shot and killed in the Liberty Park & Ride parking lot off Route 414 in Liberty Township.
Related reading: Two charged with fatal shooting at Liberty Park and Ride
Police said the couple met in the parking lot of the Dollar General Store in Liberty to exchange custody of their two-year-old. Alicea-Santiago family members said the couple, who reportedly split while he was in Puerto Rico and have returned to the United States in recent months, were feuding over a new relationship he was in.
According to the criminal complaint, Dollar General’s video surveillance showed the youth’s custody swap being placed in a red BMW sedan that matched the witness description of the same vehicle seen minutes later at Liberty Park & Ride.
The BMW belongs to Leonardo Pagan-Acevedo, 33, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who police have identified as being in a relationship with the child’s mother. After making the exchange at Dollar General, Alvarez-Matias drove to Liberty Landing Strip Restaurant/Park & Ride to pick up Pagan-Acevedo, whom she had dropped off there to wait while she picked up the child.
Alicea-Santiago followed Dollar General’s Alvarez-Matias into the parking lot and reportedly confronted the two in the BMW.
“During the altercation, Pagan-Acevedo took a pistol out of the glove compartment of his car,” police wrote in the affidavit. “Pagan-Acevedo fired a shot from a pistol at Alicea-Santiago.”
Alicea-Santiago then fled the scene, according to police, and drove to the Liberty Exxon gas station, which was just 0.2 miles from the park and ride, where he reportedly called for medical attention. Alvarez-Matias and Pagan-Acevedo also fled.
Upon arriving at the Exxon station, soldiers removed the previously unconscious Alicia-Santiago from his black Ford Explorer and attempted CPR.
“A gunshot wound to the right abdomen and a gunshot wound to the lower back were observed,” police wrote in the complaint.
Alicia-Santiago was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation led police to Pagan-Acevedo and Alvarez-Matias.
Criminal homicide and related charges of aggravated assault, carrying firearms without a license, driving rockets into vehicles and endangering the welfare of children have been filed against Pagan-Acevedo.
Alvarez-Matias, who initially denied any involvement but later admitted to police that she was present when Pagan-Acevedo fired the shot, was charged with criminal homicide, endangering the welfare of a child and obstructing the arrest, prosecution, conviction or punishment of one others.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm the list subscription.
Mistake! An error occurred while processing your request.
Get our free newsletter
Never miss a headline with NorthcentralPa.com’s newsletters.
Sign up today!
Morning Headlines: Would you like to receive our daily morning newsletter?
Afternoon update: What’s happening today? Here’s your update!
Daily Obits: Get a daily list straight to your email inbox.
Keep your messages local
Access to independent, local news is important, don’t you agree?
We work hard to deliver timely, relevant news for free. 100% of your contribution to NorthcentralPa.com goes directly to coverage of area news and events.
Thanks for saying local news matters!
donation today
Comments are closed.