The Casa Grande Police Department has arrested 18-year-old Terrance Xavier Santistevan in connection with the double homicide of 17-year-old Danielle Murrieta and 18-year-old Leslie Cota, which occurred on April 24th at the Sonoran Apartments in Casa Grande, Arizona.
According to the Casa Grande Police Department, detectives developed significant leads and followed up on a substantial number of tips provided by community members and partnering law enforcement agencies. During this investigation, they discovered that Santistevan was on scene the night of the shooting and was in possession of the 2006 Chrysler 300 believed to be involved. Additionally, it was recently discovered that Santistevan fled to Texas.
Casa Grande detectives collaborated with the United States Marshal Service and the Pflugerville Police Department to locate Santistevan in Pflugerville, Texas. They took him into custody on Saturday, April 30, 2022, without incident.
Santistevan is currently being held in the Travis County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center, pending extradition to Arizona.
Charges of First-Degree Murder (X2) will be forwarded to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office for review. Although there are many who are assisting in this complex investigation, the Casa Grande Police Department would like to recognize the U.S. Marshal Service, the Pflugerville Police Department, and the many citizens for their collaborative effort. This remains an ongoing investigation.
“I am extremely proud of the teamwork exhibited by members of our department and our law enforcement partners. Our detectives and other members of our department worked together around the clock to develop leads and simultaneously follow up on numerous tips presented during this investigation,” said Casa Grande Police Chief Mark McCrory. “This resulted in three members of our department traveling to Texas and assisting in the apprehension of Terrance Santistevan. I would like to thank members of the victim’s families and our city leadership for not engaging in the social media frenzy involving this case and having the faith to allow our detectives to do their job. Although this is a major piece of the investigation, there is still a lot of work to be done to prepare the best possible case for prosecution.”
CGPD detectives continue to search for Santistevan’s 2006 Silver Chrysler 300, which was bearing Arizona license plate 9DA2MG. They are asking the public to continue to forward any relevant information regarding this investigation, including the vehicle’s whereabouts, to Detective T. Ellsworth at Tellsworth@casagrandeaz.gov, (520) 421-8711 ext. 6294, or report anonymously to Silent Witness at (520) 836-2100.