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Sep. 14, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
Two men have been indicted and charged for killing a 20-year-old Jackson Heights man in Corona in June.
Joshua Petillo, 23, and Kevin Guerra, 21, allegedly chased Dante Santillan down a street on June 30 before Petillo fatally shot him in the back, according to the Queens District Attorneys Office.
Petillo, from Ozone Park, and Guerra, from East Elmhurst, have been charged with murder in the second degree and other weapon crimes.
They face up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the charges.
District Attorney Melinda Katz said that both men will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“The victim in this case was running for his life when he was shot down and killed on a residential street in a senseless act of gun violence,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement Monday.
“Shootings are literally leaving our streets stained with blood,” Katz said.
According to the charges, Petillo and Guerra chased Santillan down Warren Street at around 11:30 p.m.
Petillo allegedly fired off a single shot that struck Santillan in the back.
Wounded and bleeding, Santillan scrambled away from the defendants and made it to a restaurant on 40th Road. Police said Santillan collapsed outside the restaurant.
A friend of Santillan drove him to Elmhurst Hospital but he later succumbed to his gunshot wounds and died.
Petillo and Guerra were also charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.
The pair were both remanded in custody and Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron set the defendants’ return court date for Nov. 5, 2020.
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