The 2009 Sabana Seca massacre, also referred to as La Masacre de La Tómbola, was an incident that occurred on October 17, 2009, in Puerto Rico related to

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

. Eight people were killed by gunmen in a car, who shot randomly in a bar in the

Sabana Seca Sabana Seca is a barrio in the municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 53,192. History Sabana Seca was in Spain's gazetteers until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the t ...

barrio of

Toa Baja Toa Baja () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta and Bayamón; east of Dorado; and west of Cataño. Toa Baja is spread over five barrios, including Toa Baja Pueblo (the downtown area and ...

, 15 miles from

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

. Twenty people, some related to two different bands between

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

s, were wounded in the shooting. The two gunmen,

Alexis Candelario Santana Alexis Candelario Santana (born 1972) is a Puerto Rican convicted criminal and former leader of a drug cartel. In March 2013, he was sentenced for the 2009 deaths of nine persons, including an unborn girl, and the attempted murders of 19 others dur ...

, 42, and David Oquendo Rivas, were convicted by a federal jury on March 8, 2013, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.''Puerto Rico Man Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2009 Mass Shooting.''
U.S. Department of Justice. San Juan Office. Office of Public Affairs. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 28 August 2013.

The Shooting

On October 17, 2009, at approximately 11:50 pm,

and David Oquendo-Rivas arrived at the grand opening of the La Tómbola pub. Armed with several types of semi-automatic pistols and semi-automatic sporting rifles including .9mm semi-automatic pistols, 40 caliber semi-automatic pistols, 45 caliber semi-automatic pistols, AK-47 and AR-15 type rifles, the pair opened fire on the patrons congregating outside of the pub. They soon entered the building and continued to fire rounds throughout the establishment. Among those deceased included six men (three of which were Candelario-Santana's godson, Rondón-Feliciano's stepson and Candelario-Santana's cousin) one pregnant woman, and her unborn child. Another 19 pub patrons were injured and taken to Rio Piedras Medical Center where three of those injured underwent surgery for their wounds.

The Trial

This incident was investigated by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

alongside the

Puerto Rico Police Department The Puerto Rico Police (PPR; , ), officially the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (, ), is a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a division of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety (PR DPS), ...

. Documents spanning from 1993 to 2003 which were used as evidence to convict Candelario-Santana showed that he controlled a

organization centered in the Sabana Seca area of

Toa Baja, Puerto Rico Toa Baja () is a Toa Baja barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa Alta and Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayamón; east of Dorado, Puerto Rico, ...

. Candelario-Santana's organization sold numerous drugs bought from several sellers including crack,

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

, and

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. The trial also introduced evidence that Candelario-Santana either orchestrated or committed the murders himself of 13 people he thought posed a threat to his operation between 1995 and 2001. The assailants, Alexis Candelario-Santana and David Oquendo-Rivas, faced life in prison after being convicted on March 8, 2013, for the murders of eight individuals, an unborn child, and the attempted murder of the other twenty injured people. Both were brought up on the following charges; 28 counts of violent crime in aid of criminal activity, one count of

criminal conspiracy In criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime at some time in the future. Criminal law in some countries or for some conspiracies may require that at least one overt act be undertaken in furtherance ...

, nine counts firearm possession and use during a crime of violence, one count of

, and one count of possession of a firearm with a prior conviction as Candelario-Santana previously been

incarcerated Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered "false imprisonment". Impris ...

. On August 23, 2017, the federal court ordered a new trial seeking death sentences for both defendants starting with jury selection on August 1, 2018. The government later decided to only seek a death sentence for Candelario-Santana. Both men were found guilty, albeit the jury spared Candelario-Santana's life. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabana Seca massacre, 2009 2000s murders in Puerto Rico 2009 crimes in Puerto Rico 2009 murders in North America Massacres in 2009 Deaths by firearm in Puerto Rico Toa Baja, Puerto Rico Crimes in Puerto Rico October 2009 crimes in North America Massacres in Puerto Rico Attacks on bars in the United States October 2009 in insular areas of the United States People murdered in Puerto Rico

The Shooting

The Trial

See also

References