CASA GRANDE, AZ — A man has been sentenced for murdering two teenage girls in Casa Grande in 2022.
On Friday, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office announced 21-year-old Terrance Santistevan was sentenced to two consecutive natural terms in prison without the possibility of release for the murders of the girls.
A jury convicted Santistevan on two counts of first-degree murder last month.
In April of 2022, 18-year-old Leslie Cota and 17-year-old Danielle Murrieta were shot while at the Sonoran Apartment complex in Casa Grande. Cota died at the scene, while Murrieta was flown to a hospital and later died.
According to the Pinal County Attorney, Santistevan and another individual were involved in a human smuggling operation. When Santistevan wasn’t paid the money he believed he was owed, he sought revenge, murdering the two victims instead of his intended target.
Santistevan reportedly fired more than two dozen 9mm rounds using a Glock handgun modified with a switch to make it fire as a fully automatic weapon.
Several days later, police in Texas arrested Santistevan during a collaborative operation between the Casa Grande Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service and the Pflugerville Police Department, north of Austin.
“We are grateful to the victims’ families for being so patient and supportive in this process and thankful to everyone at Casa Grande Police Department, our office’s investigators, staff and victim advocates Raegan Wittig and Jesus Pacheco, and our expert witnesses for their incredibly hard work on the case,” said Prosecutor Shawn Jensvold.
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“These were calculated, cold-blooded murders stemming from a human smuggling operation,” said Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller. “The defendant showed a complete disregard for human life in pursuit of revenge. Today’s sentence ensures this violent individual will never again be free to harm another person.” County Attorney Miller wanted to highlight comments from a victim impact statement, “There is no victory in the loss of two innocent lives. Nothing about this moment is victorious when two beautiful girls were taken from this world in the most horrific way. This isn’t victory, this is merely the bare minimum one should expect for a remorseless individual that has shattered families and left us with nothing but memories to replay and the heartache of a lifetime. He took everything from these girls and now he should be reminded of the lives he stole and the pain he caused, because that’s the only form of real justice we will be able to receive. Let today be a reminder to you to never take a moment for granted.”
