This article was originally published on goerie.com on July 6, 2017 by Madeleine O’Neil
Erie police have charged a third suspect with homicide in the June 29 shooting death of 28-year-old David Tate.
Taisha L. Santiago, 26, is still at large after police on Thursday charged her with homicide and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Previously charged in the case were accused shooter Jalen D. Reynolds, 23, and Lashonta L. Dade, 25.
Santiago “is the final suspect we are seeking in the case,” Erie Police Chief Donald Dacus said.
Information about Santiago’s role in the homicide was not available Thursday evening.
The fatal shooting of Tate was reported at 3:37 a.m. June 29 in the 1300 block of East 20th Street, near Gaskell Avenue and just north of Buffalo Road. Tate and another 28-year-old man were standing outside a residence when they were shot, according to investigators.
Tate was pronounced dead at UPMC Hamot at 4:20 a.m. Thursday, Cook said.
Investigators have said they believe the motive for the shooting was robbery.
According to the affidavits of probable cause filed with the criminal complaints against Dade and Reynolds, Dade told detectives during an interview that she was with Reynolds in the area of East 20th Street, and that they were in the area “to rob individuals.”
She said Reynolds got out of her vehicle while she parked in the 1400 block of East 20th Street and he walked west. She said she heard shots fired and Reynolds came running back to the vehicle stating, “I think I killed someone,” the detectives wrote in the affidavit.
Investigators said Dade also stated the motive was robbery of marijuana. Members of the Erie Bureau of Police Vice & Drug Unit seized more than one pound of suspected marijuana during a search of a duplex in the 1300 block of East 20th Street, where the shooting took place.
Reynolds and Dade are both in the Erie County Prison without bond. Reynolds, a Detroit man who was living in Erie, faces charges including homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure. Dade, of Erie, is charged with homicide and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Both were arraigned by Erie 2nd Ward District Judge Paul Urbaniak on the evening of June 29, less than 16 hours after the shooting occurred.
Police charge that Reynolds and Dade were in a gray Hyundai that officers saw leaving the area of the shooting as officers who heard gunfire shortly after 3:30 a.m. Thursday headed toward the area where they believe the shots came from. Police also received multiple 911 calls about the shooting, investigators said.
Officers encountered the occupants of the Hyundai, whom they identified as Reynolds and Dade, at a gas station on Buffalo Road. Reynolds appeared to be “sweating profusely,” Erie police detectives Sean Bogart and Matthew Berarducci wrote in the affidavits. Reynolds and Dade were brought to the Erie police station for questioning.
Police recovered five R&P brand 9 mm shell casings from the front yard and porch area of the East 20th Street duplex, and they found a HiPoint 9 mm handgun, with six live rounds of R&P brand 9 mm ammunition in the 1400 block of East 20th Street, according to the affidavit.
Staff Writer Tim Hahn contributed to this report.
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