PHOENIX (TCD) — Three gang members were arrested on murder charges for allegedly torturing and killing a 30-year-old man on a hiking trail, then sending photos of his body to his relatives.
According to KTVK-TV, Bernardo Pantaleon was found fatally shot and mutilated with “significant trauma” on a hiking trail at Mountain View Park on Nov. 26. He had reportedly been beaten, tortured, and stripped of his clothing.
Court documents cited by KTVK report one of the suspects, Leonardo Santiago, allegedly killed Pantaleon because “an unwanted advance made [Santiago] uncomfortable.” Santiago allegedly shot Pantaleon to death, then returned to the scene soon after with one of the other suspects, Manuel Carrasco-Calderon, who “mutilated the victim’s body.”
Santiago, Carrasco-Calderon, and the third co-defendant, Jose Rodriguez, allegedly previously discussed robbing and killing Pantaleon.
KSAZ-TV, which also cites court documents, reports Pantaleon’s body was left under a small tree and that he was “mutilated, postmortem, with a sharp-edged object.”
Four days after he was found dead, Pantaleon’s family reportedly received photos from Rodriguez’s social media accounts that depicted someone showing the middle finger and another of Pantaleon’s body.
The suspects reportedly communicated via group chat, and, according to court documents, “Members of the chat repeatedly asked for updates, lamented they were not invited, asked to see video/photograph proof, and one co-defendant offered to hide the co-defendant, or shooter, after the murder was completed.”
The men also allegedly made comments about Pantaleon’s sexuality because he was gay.
Santiago allegedly admitted to killing Pantaleon, while the other two reportedly told detectives they knew Santiago’s plans.
The three suspects were reportedly members of the same gang.
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