DES MOINES, Iowa — One of the shooters charged in the East High School drive-by shooting that left then 15-year-old Jose David Lopez dead, has been sentenced to life in prison according to a Polk County Attorney's Office release Monday.
Last year, Alex Santiago Perdomo pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and has been held at the State Training School in Eldora. He will turn 18 on Wednesday.
Although sentenced to life in prison, Perdomo does have the possibility of parole due to the fact he was a juvenile at the time of the shooting.
In the March 7, 2022 shooting, Lopez was killed while his sister and her friend were critically injured after multiple gunshots were fired at them from three vehicles driving past.
Des Moines police said their investigation has led them to believe Perdomo was sitting in the back of one of the vehicles from where he shot eight of the 42 bullets fired during the shooting. Perdomo was 15-years-old at the time of the shooting.
During a hearing on Monday, officials from the State Training School spoke of Perdomo's progress at the school, which included graduating from high school, serving on a student council and serving as a peer role model. In the hearing, it was also specified that he was not the "leader" of the group, with the unofficial title going to Lopez Sanchez.
A judge in Monday's hearing acknowledged the progress Perdomo has made, but also said it is "important to show the community that there are consequences for actions."
Perdomo addressed Jose Lopez's mother during the hearing, saying “I feel guilt, because you’re right, I can’t imagine what you are going through.”
In her victim impact statement, she said she could not "forgive and forget and be proud" of what he was doing, noting that he fired eight times.
"You had a lot of time to change your mind," she said in her statement, "You shot eight times. The first shot, you could have changed your mind. You decided to keep going."
There are 10 teens charged in the shooting:
- Nyang Mai Chamdual, 17, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 18, 2025, after he turns 18.
- Romeo Perdomo, 19, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime.
- Octavio Lopez Sanchez Jr., 19, was sentenced to 70 years in prison in January 2024. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury.
- Daniel Hernandez, 20, was sentenced to 60 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing a serious injury. He was a juvenile at the time of the shooting.
- Henry David Valladares Amaya, 20, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing serious injury. He was a juvenile at the time of the shooting.
- Manuel De Jesus Buezo, 19, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing serious injury. He was a juvenile at the time of the shooting.
- Braulio Damien Hernandez-Salas, 19, pleaded guilty to two charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
- Kevin Isidro Martinez, 18, pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
- Gumaro Marquez-Jacobo, 20, was sentenced to a four-year suspended sentence. He had pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact, one count of person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon, and one count of providing a pistol or revolver to a person under 21.