Charleston, South Carolina — A man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing another guy in North Charleston over three years ago.
According to a press release, Rigoberto Rojas-Santiago received a life sentence for the murder of Brihan Zuriel Martinez Calderon, who was 20 years old.
Murder caught on surveillance footage
In November 2022, officers from the North Charleston Police Department responded to reports of a shooting in the 7800 block of Jean Rebault Drive.
Witnesses provided them a Ring camera video of the murder, but the suspect was disguised with a hood and his arm.
Guadalupe Sanchez, the mother of the suspect’s children, testified during the trial that he was the person seen in the video. She stated that the two had been at Calderon’s house when she heard the men conversing in the driveway before the shooting.
She claims Rojas-Santiago then stepped into the car and stated, “He only shot the kid in the leg, and he’ll be fine.”
Jealousy led to a fatal encounter.
Sanchez stated that she had been messaging with Calderon earlier that day, which enraged the suspect. She claimed Rojas-Santiago used her phone and appeared to be her, deceiving Calderon into giving his location.
The defendant drove to Calderon’s house, approached the door, coaxed him out, held him at gunpoint for more than two minutes, and shot him in the heart while standing in the driveway.
Officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s apartment and discovered a weapon that matched the cartridge casing found at the scene. They also discovered more than 70 rounds of the same brand and type of ammunition used to kill Calderon in the defendant’s van and in his rucksack in his bedroom.
A Charleston County jury convicted the defendant on the third anniversary of the murder. Assistant Solicitors Lemuel Zeigler and Jewell Gearding delivered the State’s case.
