Home Invasion Suspects Still Sought; Resident Faces Drug Charges

The search continued Tuesday for two men who pistol-whipped a Levesque Avenue man in a bloody home invasion Monday morning. The men posed as meter readers and at least one shot was fired, said.

Jose Santiago, 36, of 78 Levesque Ave., sustained head wounds during the home invasion and was taken to Hartford Hospital for treatment, police said. No other injuries were reported.

As the startling event was untangled by investigators, police said a large quantity of crack cocaine was seized at the home. Santiago was arrested on multiple narcotics charges.

“This attack was not random,” West Hartford police Capt. Joseph Lasata said.

Also Tuesday, Hartford police were investigating another drug-related home invasion at an apartment at 2580 Main St., the Hartford Courant reported. Two men, one with a gun, forced their way into a woman's apartment seeking drugs, police said. A connection to the Levesque Avenue home invasion was not ruled out. 

Santiago’s wife and their two young children were also home during the violent intrusion, police and family members said. Police were unsure at first that no one was shot because of the amount of blood at the scene.

Police were searching for two suspects described as Hispanic men in their 30s. Each wore a blue jumpsuit with fluorescent orange vests. They left in a silver two-door Honda Civic with the license plate 168-YWB, police said.

Police were called to Santiago’s home at 7:45 a.m. Santiago’s mother, Luz Perez, said she visited her son at the hospital.

“My son told me that two guys went to the house very early,” Perez said. “They told him they work for the gas company and he let them go down [to the basement]. When they don’t come up, my son went down and then they grab him and tie him and start beating him with a gun.”

The suspects attempted to tie up Santiago with an electrical cord, Lasata said. That led to a struggle.

Santiago’s wife, who is 26, and their 1-month infant girl and 6-year-old daughter were upstairs, Perez said. Santiago’s wife apparently made the emergency call.

“[Santiago] fight with both of them because they said they were going to go upstairs to rob his lady and the girls,” Perez said. “He yelled, ‘call the police, call the police.’”

Perez said that Santiago, who was laid off from a landscaping job around Christmas, told her that the gun discharged while he was being pistol-whipped.

Perez said her son told her he did not know his attackers. Santiago apparently was involved in an altercation in the street outside his home two weeks ago and police were looking into any connection, Lasata said.

Santiago was charged with possession with intent to sell more than a half-ounce of cocaine, marijuana possession, operating a drug factory, drug possession within 1,500 feet of a school, and two counts of risk of injury to a child. He was held on a $250,000 bond and an apperance was scheduled Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court.

Santiago does not appear to have a criminal record in Connecticut other than a DUI arrest last year by West Hartford police. He pleaded no contest to the charge Feb. 24, paid a $500 fine and was placed on probation for 18 months.