Suspect in homeless men’s deaths caught on camera beating victims with long metal object: court docs
CHINATOWN, Manhattan — A 24-year-old homeless man accused of murder is shown on camera beating homeless men to death, according to the criminal complaint released after his Sunday arraignment.
The suspect in the killing of four homeless men in Chinatown is shown above.
Randy Santos was arraigned on four counts of murder in the second degree, one count of murder in the first degree and a count of attempted murder in the second degree. The final charge is connected to the beating of a homeless man who was critically injured in the Saturday attack.
All five victims, attacked on East Broadway and on Bowery, were sleeping, officials said. The crimes scenes are just blocks away from NYPD headquarters.
A police officer spotted Santos walking with "a large metal object containing fresh blood and hair" near Mulberry Street and Canal Street around 2 a.m., according to the criminal complaint.
Santos was ordered held without bail. He's scheduled to be back in court on Oct. 11.
Santos, using a Spanish interpreter in court, did not enter a plea at his arraignment.
His defense attorney had no comment as he left court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.