Incident: Homicide – Suspects Arrested  Date & Time of Homicide:  May 14, 2020 / 22:01 p.m.

Location:  Willow Street and Woodlawn Terrace

On May 14, 2020, at 10:01 pm., Waterbury Police were called to the area of Willow Street and Woodlawn Terrace to investigate a report of gunshots. This complaint was called into the police by several people.

When the police arrived no victims suffering from gunshot injuries were located. The police quickly determined that two victims suffering from gunshot injuries were transported by private vehicles to area hospitals.  A female victim (age 23) arrived at Waterbury Hospital suffering from a gunshot injury to a leg. A male victim (age 26) arrived at Saint Mary’s Hospital suffering from a gunshot injury to the torso.

Detectives from Major Crimes, detectives from the VICE squad, officers from the Street Crimes Unit (SCU), officers from the Auto Theft Task Force (ATTF) and the Crime Scene Unit of the Forensic Division responded to assist in this investigation.

Downtown beat officers responded to Saint Mary’s hospital and located the vehicle that arrived at the Emergency Room occupied by three people including the male victim. The male victim was immediately brought into the hospital for treatment. The three occupants of that were vehicle were located and detained as the investigation continued.  

The female victim at Waterbury Hospital was treated and released for a non-life threatening injury. The male victim at Saint Mary’s Hospital succumb to his injury and was pronounced deceased on May 14, 2020, at approximately 10:25 p.m.

Shortly after arriving on scene, the police determined that gunshots were fired from a dark colored SUV towards a crowd of people standing outside in the area of Woodlawn Terrace and Willow Street. This SUV fled the scene at a high rate of speed after the shooting. A citywide search quickly began for this suspect vehicle.

On May 15, 2020 at approximately 1:40 a.m., officers assigned to a VICE Unit saw a black SUV traveling on Hamilton Avenue towards Pearl Lake Road suspected to be the  vehicle used during the shooting. This vehicle was confirmed as a stolen vehicle out of Groton. Officers initiated a motor vehicle stop. The driver of the SUV did not stop and fled. Officers pursued the vehicle. During this pursuit, the suspect vehicle crashed head-on into a second police vehicle operated by detectives responding to assist. This crash disabled both the suspect and police vehicle. The three occupants of the SUV were taken into custody.

The three male occupants of the SUV were identified as:  Jan Santiago (DOB 09/10/00) of Ridgewood Street, Waterbury, Byron E. Cruz (DOB 2/22/02) of Warner Street, Waterbury and a juvenile (Age 17).

Updated Information

The victim of this homicide has been identified as Isaiah Colon (DOB 1/25/94) of Waterbury.  The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has determined that the cause of death as gunshot wound torso and the manner of death as homicide.

The investigation determined that a fourth person in the SUV, Evel Pacheco (DOB 7/20/01) of Warner Place, Waterbury, shot at the people in the street during this drive-by shooting.

On May 15, 2020, at approximately 4:30 p.m., detectives conducting surveillance located and took Pacheco into custody during a motor vehicle stop. Pacheco was a passenger in the car during this motor vehicle stop. Police recovered two handguns from this car.

Jan Santiago was arrested and charged with:

  • Conspiracy at Murder
  • Conspiracy at Assault 1st
  • Weapons in Motor Vehicle
  • Larceny 1st degree
  • Assault on Police Office (4 cts)
  • Criminal Trover 2nd
  • Interfering with Police Officers
  • Reckless Driving
  • Operating a Vehicle without a License
  • Engaging Police in Pursuit

Santiago was held on a $1,500,000 bond pending arraignment in court/GA 4.

Byron Cruz was arrested and charged with:

  • Conspiracy at Murder
  • Conspiracy at Assault 1st
  • Weapons in Motor Vehicle
  • Larceny 1st
  • Interfering with Police Officers

Cruz was held on a $1,500,000 bond pending arraignment in court/GA 4        

The juvenile was arrested and charged with:

  • Conspiracy at Murder
  • Conspiracy at Assault 1st
  • Weapons in Motor Vehicle
  • Larceny 1st
  • Interfering with Police Officers

The juvenile was released to Juvenile Detention pending arraignment in court.

Evel Pacheco was arrested and charged with:

  • Murder
  • Assault 1st
  • Conspiracy at Murder
  • Conspiracy at Assault 1st
  • Illegal Transfer or Sale of Firearm
  • Carrying a Pistol without a Permit
  • Possession of Large Capacity Magazine
  • Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm
  • Reckless Endangerment 1st
  • Weapons in Motor Vehicle
  • Criminal Use of Firearm
  • Possession Marijuana

Pacheco was held on a $1,500,000 bond pending arraignment in court/ GA 4.

Based upon the motor vehicle stop during the apprehension of Pacheco, the driver and front seat passenger were arrested. The driver was identified as Harry Isaac (DOB 7/10/89) of Warner Place, Waterbury. The front seat passenger was identified as Camille Cruz (DOB 5/5/81) of Walnut Street, Waterbury.

Isaac was arrested and charged with:

  • Weapons in a Motor Vehicle

Isaac was held on a $150,000 pending arraignment in court/GA 4.

Cruz was arrested and charged with:

  • Weapons in Motor Vehicle
  • Possession of Pistol without a Permit
  • Possession of High Capacity Magazine (2 CTS)

Cruz was held on a $500,000 bond pending arraignment in court/ GA 4.

This homicide investigation remains an open an active investigation.  Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to contact the Waterbury Police Detectives at (203) 574-6941 or Crime Stoppers at (203) 755-1234.