by Thomas Breen
Mayor Justin Elicker and Police Chief David Zannelli.
Christopher Santana’s mom Lisa Berrios brought a cutout picture of her son to Wednesday’s event.
City police have arrested a New Havener who was 15 years old when he allegedly shot and killed 25-year-old Christopher Santana in December 2024 during an apparent marijuana deal-turned-robbery in a George Street parking lot.
Police Chief David Zannelli, Mayor Justin Elicker, and Asst. Chief Manmeet Bhagtana announced that arrest Wednesday afternoon during a press conference held on the third floor of police headquarters at 1 Union Ave.
Standing alongside more than two dozen grieving members of Santana’s family, Zannelli and Bhagtana spoke about how a 17-year-old New Havener was arrested on Aug. 12 on charges of murder, felony murder, and carrying a pistol without a permit in regards to the Dec. 2, 2024, shooting death of Santana.
Zannelli said that the suspect’s case has been transferred to adult court, and that he is currently being held on a $2 million bond. He has not yet entered pleas to any of the charges.
Zannelli stressed that Santana — the victim of the December 2024 homicide — “was not an individual that was well known to law enforcement or out there creating problems.” He was a New Haven resident, part of this community, and beloved by his family. Elicker said that Santana was a graduate of Eli Whitney Technical High School and had a dog named “Joker.”
Zannelli thanked Santana’s mom, Lisa Berrios, for staying in touch with the police chief on a near-daily basis over the past 20 months.
“His life matters,” Santana’s aunt, Melissa Berrios, said about her nephew at Wednesday’s presser. “We wake up every day knowing that he will never come home … We will continue to speak his name.”
An arrest warrant affidavit written by Det. Jeremy Cordero on Aug. 6 states that police received a 911 call at 3:24 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2024, about a shooting victim in a car parked in the rear lot of the apartment complex at 730 George St. The victim, Santana, was transported to the hospital and later pronounced deceased.
According to witness interviews, video surveillance footage, and social media messages, police determined that Santana had arranged to meet up with someone in the George Street parking lot to sell them marijuana.
The affidavit states that, soon before the homicide, an Instagram account called “neverfold4nunn” sent a message to Santana’s Instagram account, asking about prices and flavors for marijuana that Santana had for sale. Santana reportedly responded with videos and prices for marijuana he had for sale. The “neverfold4nunn” account then sent Santana a message “about looking for something ‘Big’ and that they want to split it with their ‘brother,’” and instructed him to meet at 730 George St.
Police later connected the “neverfold4nunn” account with the 17-year-old they wound up arresting.
“A 15-year-old took [Santana’s] life,” Elicker said at Wednesday’s press conference. “When you take someone’s life, you destroy your own life” too.
Wednesday’s press conference took place two weeks after police arrested a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old who were allegedly responsible for the October 2024 murder of 21-year-old New Havener Niygere Wicker in Fair Haven. And it came roughly a month after another years-long murder investigation — into the 2023 shooting death of 25-year-old Ramon Yates — also resulted in the arrests of two people.
Asst. Chief Bhagtana.
Det. Jeremy Cordero and Lt. Derek Gartner.