Post by Scumhunter on Sept 7, 2016 4:30:27 GMT -5
(Pictured: Above: Left: Alejandro Rivera Right: Hector Santiago Photo Credits: floridasunonline.net)
From the Florida Sun Online archives:
Today marks six years since Alejandro Rivera and his friend Hector Santiago were robbed and shot to death in the parking lot of the Willow Apartments on Carroll Street in Kissimmee. Friends of Alejandro Rivera will gather in front of the Willows Apartment Community at 7pm this evening in remembrance of the two.
The case, one of 13 unsolved homicides since 1992 the Kissimmee Police Department has on their books, still gets worked regularly by Corporal Det. Omar Berrio, who hopes someone contacts his department with information.
“We will continue to remind citizens about the murder of Alejandro Rivera and Hector Santiago in hopes that anyone with information, no matter how small, will come forward. We will follow every lead that we receive and will continue to work this case until we can bring justice to the victims and their families,” he said.
Rivera’s mother, Mary Carmen, who died earlier this year from a long illness, passed out fliers at last year’s vigil to encourage someone to contact police with any information on the murders.
She recalled during the vigil how the Thanksgiving meal of 2006 was used to feed her son’s funeral attendants and vowed to keep the case alive through social media and on the America’s Most Wanted website.
Rivera, known to friends and family as Alex, was an aspiring rapper who worked at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport while waiting for his big break and enjoyed spending time with his then-toddler son, Josiah.
The boy, now 8, only learned where his father died last year after his mother Michelle Perez, who was married to Rivera for three years, tried shielding the worst details of her then-estranged husband’s death from their son.
Instead, Perez said, she encourages Josiah to listen to his father’s music, tells him stories about father-son outings to the zoo and compares his goofy faces to Rivera’s as ways to keep his memory alive.
Double homicide
Rivera and Santiago had been at the downtown Orlando club Tabu, now called The Beacham, on Orange Avenue promoting Rivera's new CD the night of Nov. 20, 2006 before heading back to Kissimmee in the early morning hours.
They stopped at the 7-11 convenience store on Americana Boulevard in Orlando for a sandwich, then continued on to apartment 70 at the Willow Apartments where Santiago was housesitting for a friend.
Just before 5 a.m., an unknown Hispanic male, possibly between 16-25 years of age, approached the pair and demanded their jewelry, which included gold chains, one with a large Jesus pendant.
Both victims were shot multiple times.
Witnesses who heard gunshots from their apartments told police they heard someone yell “let's go” and saw a small, light colored car, possibly a white Toyota Camry with a black bumper, flee from the scene. One witness said the men had a “Spanish accent” while another described the men as young black males.
Santiago was able to give some details to detectives at the scene.
However, Rivera was unresponsive and died after being transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Santiago fell into a coma and died from his wounds three days later.
Their families have speculated someone may have followed the men from the club or the convenience store after eyeing their jewelry.
“We don't know if someone followed them from the club,” police spokeswoman Stacie Miller said. “We're following up on all avenues.”
Rather, Miller said, clues could be held in the Jesus pendant robbed from the men. Police never found the jewelry and are unable to speculate how much it could be worth, she added.
Police are looking for 3-4 Hispanic males described to be in their mid-teens to late-twenties. The suspects fled in a light colored small vehicle with dark bumpers, estimated to be a 1985-1990 model.
“We are asking anyone with information to come forward and help bring closure to this family,” Berrio said. “Any little piece of information is valuable to this case.”
The case has also been submitted to the Joint Homicide Investigative Taskforce, a combined effort of municipal law enforcement agencies in Osceola and Orange counties and the Orange Osceola State Attorney’s Office to help solve cold cases.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Kissimmee Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit at 407-846-3333 or by e-mail at seeitsayit@kissimmee.org or Crimeline at (800) 423-TIPS (8477). Calls made to Crimeline remain anonymous and, tips that lead to the felony arrest of suspects are eligible for a cash reward of up to $5,000 dollars.
archives.floridasunonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12921%3Akissimmee-double-homicide-case-now-6-years-old&Itemid=181
Thoughts? As the article mentioned, Alejandro and Hector's case was profiled on America's Most Wanted's website, but I unfortunately couldn't find the archive. Thankfully there's a detailed article, and sadly the case appears to still be unsolved. Since it is a possible clue here is a picture of the Jesus pendant that the robbers demanded:
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