ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Florida man has been arrested in connection with a 2023 homicide at an after-hours club in Allentown and is awaiting extradition to Lehigh County, authorities announced.
Alberto Jose Rios-Santiago, 25, of Deltona, Florida, was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with first-degree criminal homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, and a misdemeanor count of possessing instruments of crime, according to Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca.
The charges stem from a fatal shooting that occurred on January 22, 2023, at around 4:45 a.m. at 1038 Union Boulevard. The victim, 28-year-old Blessing Taveras of Schnecksville, was shot and killed. The Lehigh County Coroner ruled her death a homicide. Two other individuals were also injured by gunfire during the incident.
The arrest follows an investigation by the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force, the Allentown Police Department, and the 12th Investigating Grand Jury. The criminal complaint and grand jury presentment remain sealed.
Rios-Santiago will be prosecuted by Chief of Prosecutions Patricia Fuentes Mulqueen and Assistant District Attorney Sis-Obed G. Torres-Figueroa. His extradition timeline has not yet been announced.