A Lancaster man will face a count of criminal homicide and two counts of recklessly endangering another person in Lancaster County Court following a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon in the Lancaster County Courthouse before Magisterial District Judge Bruce A. Roth.

The evidence presented at the hearing was sufficient to hold over the charges against Carlos Almanzar-Torres, 21 of the 500 block of St. Joseph St., regarding the shooting of 19-year-old Damian Santiago on March 14 at the Sunoco/A-Plus at 111 W. Orange St.

Assistant District Attorney Sean Barrett presented testimony from Lancaster City Bureau of Police Detective Ryan Burgett, who is leading the investigation and filed charges.

Video footage around five minutes long from outside and inside of the Sunoco/A-Plus before, during, and after the shooting was also presented.

According to testimony, Almanzar-Torres and Santiago both arrived at the Sunoco/A-Plus around 10 p.m. on Monday, March 14. Detective Burgett testified the meetup was coincidental and unplanned.

The video showed the defendant and victim began arguing outside of the gas station, which eventually continued into the store. Burgett testified that the defendant had allegedly loaned the victim money for a phone bill, which hadn’t been repaid.

As the argument continued into the store, the victim punched the defendant in the head causing them both to fall to the floor. The fighting continued on the floor and a shot was fired from Almanzar-Torres’ firearm. The video footage did not capture how the firearm discharged.

Both men returned to their feet, with Almanzar-Torres possessing the firearm and Santiago moving toward the back of the store.

The defendant appeared to be trying to unjam the firearm while following the victim up and down aisles. Once he unjammed the gun, Almanzar-Torres moved parallel to Santiago with an aisle separating them. He raised the gun over the aisle and fired a single shot, which hit Santiago in the shoulder, went through his lung, and stopped in his heart, according to testimony. Burgett testified that Almanzar-Torres stated he shot the victim because he felt threatened.

The defendant then punched the victim multiple times after he collapsed before leaving the store.

About an hour after the incident, Almanzar-Torres turned himself in at the Lancaster City Bureau of Police Station with his arms raised, stating he wanted to speak with police and that there was a firearm in the front seat of his car parked on the street.

Police recovered the firearm in Almanzar-Torres’ vehicle and sent shell casings and rounds recovered in the Sunoco/A-Plus to the state police lab for testing.

Two store clerks were present inside the Sunoco/A-Plus at the time of the shooting.

The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of the victim’s death to be a gunshot wound to the chest and the manner to be homicide.

Almanzar-Torres’ formal arraignment is scheduled for April 29 at 9 a.m. before a judge to be determined. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Assistant District Attorney Kyle Linardo assisted in the proceedings.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.