Less than a day after authorities began investigating the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old West Chester youth, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced four arrests in what he termed “a brutal and senseless killing.”
Hogan credited quick work by West Chester Police, who responded to the 700 block of Hillsdale Road about 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20 after a passing motorist had reported what appeared to be a body on the side of the road. Police said Cristian Santiago, 17, of West Chester, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Assisted by Chester County detectives, police conducted interviews and determined that Onray L. Winfield, 19, of West Chester, a friend of Santiago’s, arranged for Santiago to sell marijuana to Gerald D. Myers 3rd, 19, of West Chester, a ruse to set up a robbery, Hogan said in a press release.
“This case is a prime example of a brutal and senseless killing,” Hogan said in the release. “The victim is dead, leaving behind a grieving family. The defendants are facing murder charges. All over a little marijuana and a few dollars.”
According to the criminal complaint, Myers was joined by his two cousins: Darrell Woodward, 19, and Bryon Stevens, 20, both of Coatesville. They arranged to meet Santiago at a gas station in West Chester, pretending to be marijuana customers. Once Santiago entered their car, the men drove away and Woodward, after struggling for control of Santiago’s pot, shot him in the chest near Gay and Wayne streets in West Chester.
The men then dumped Santiago’s body in a remote section of Hillsdale Road and fled with less than a quarter-ounce of marijuana and $30, the complaint said. They face charges that include first-degree murder, robbery and kidnapping, and are being held at Chester County Prison to await a preliminary hearing that has not yet been scheduled, according to court records.
