Man who police say returned fire in shooting arrested
Police on Wednesday evening arrested the man they say returned fire during a June 20 shootout injuring 10 people outside an nightclub, Allentown Police Chief Glenn Granitz said.
Already charged with carrying a gun without a license in connection with the shootout outside Deja Vu nightclub, Bryant Santiago, 21, of Allentown, was arrested “without incident” during an operation by Allentown police and other law enforcement agencies, Granitz said.
On July 26, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said Santiago, a Bloods gang member, returned fire against rival Latin Kings gang members outside the club. The three men suspected of shooting the club goers have not been arrested.
Investigators said Santiago was identified through social media posts that show him wearing the same clothing captured on surveillance on the night of the Deja Vu attack.
According to court records filed on July 25:
Just before 2 a.m. June 20, Allentown police were called to the nightclub, where they found several victims suffering gunshot wounds.
During their investigation, Allentown police obtained video surveillance from several businesses near the nightclub.
Authorities say one of those videos show a man, later identified as Santiago, ducking behind a parked vehicle as gunshots ring out.
Santiago then pulls a handgun from his waistband and runs to the southeast corner of Hamilton Street, where three muzzle flashes appear. Police say those flashes were gunshots.
To date, the only other person charged in the Deja Vu shooting is an alleged getaway driver, 20-year-old Angelo Luis Rivera of Allentown. At a brief court hearing Wednesday, authorities filed an additional charge against Rivera, who is awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and two drugrelated offenses. Rivera remains in Lehigh County Jail without bail.
In earlier court records detailing the charges against Rivera, authorities said two men armed with AR-15 rifles exited a Hyundai Elantra driven by Rivera. The men armed with AR-15s were approached by a third man with a handgun, and then all three began firing on the clubgoers.
After the shootings, one of the shooters returned to the car and the others fled on foot, according to court records.
Police used surveillance footage to quickly track down the getaway vehicle, which Rivera parked near his home in the 600 block of North Fourth Street, the records say. On his Facebook page, Rivera was shown flashing gang signs and opening his shirt to reveal a chest tattoo of a five-pointed crown, a symbol of the Latin Kings street gang.