Log in to WRAL.com with one click using your favorite social network:
OR
Log in using your WRAL.com account:



Wrong email/password combination.

Forgot password?

Register with WRAL.com using your favorite social network:
OR
Register for a WRAL.com account using our web form.

Login Options

8:08 a.m. • 2-12-12

Weather Forecast for Raleigh

  • Today: Clear.
    • Hi: 41° F
  • Mon: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 50° F
  • Tue: Rain.
    • Hi: 53° F

Other Locations

> 7 Day Forecast

Doppler Image

Marketplace Links

Social Links

Main Menu

Man Faces Murder Charges in Party Shootout


e-mail print friendly
Jose Delacruz Santibanez
Jose Delacruz Santibanez

Deputies charged a man with two counts of first-degree murder in a shootout at a party in Sampson County early Sunday.

Detectives believe that Jose Delacruz Santibanez, of 10145 Garland Highway in Clinton, was responsible for the deaths of Sergio Cruz Rojas, 31, and Humberto Sanchez, 36, both of Clinton.

Five men and teenaged boy argued over a card game in the back yard of a trailer at 135 Old U.S. Highway 701, between Garland and Clinton, Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said. Around 1 a.m., that fight escalated into a shootout that left Rojas and Sanchez dead.

Jose Santivanez, 24; Estaban Majia, 35, both of Clinton; an unidentified 15-year-old boy and Santibanez suffered gunshot wounds. They were treated at local hospitals.

Santibanez also faces two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury.

He was arrested Thursday and placed in the Sampson County Detention Center without bond.

More arrests will likely be made as the investigation continues, detectives said.

Earlier, Thornton said investigators were confident that no one else was involved in the shooting, except the injured and deceased. Investigators were piecing together who the shooters were.

A shotgun, 9mm handgun and rifle were used to fire dozens of bullets during the shootout, Thornton said.

Susan Williams, who lives a few hundred yards from the site of the shooting, said gunfire is not unusual in the neighborhood.

“It feels awful. It feels terrible that it’s happening right here in the neighborhood,”  Williams said immediately after the shooting.

RELATED TOPICS: Sampson County

e-mail print friendly

5 Comments


WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

View Comments 5 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments
Dang, its a good thing they were not playing Passout or Risk. But srsly shooting people over a game? Jebus

I guess he was losing.

unreal.

over a card game???

You have got to be kidding me!

View Comments 5 COMMENTS
Report It

Multimedia

Click Here