Man accused of killing 5 at Ft. Lauderdale airport to plead guilty, avoid death penalty

Esteban Santiago, 28, originally pleaded not guilty.

ByAaron Katersky
May 1, 2018, 4:00 PM

The Alaska man charged with shooting and killing five people at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport last year agreed today to plead guilty and serve a life sentence.

Prosecutors agreed to stop considering the death penalty for Esteban Santiago, 28, who originally pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the January 2017 shooting.

PHOTO: Esteban Santiago, center, is led from the Broward County jail for an arraignment in federal court, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Esteban Santiago, center, is led from the Broward County jail for an arraignment in federal court, Jan. 30, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Santiago is charged in a 22-count federal indictment in the Jan. 6 shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Lynne Sladky/AP, FILE

The announcement came at a hearing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

A change-of-plea hearing is expected to be scheduled after a May 23 hearing to determine whether Santiago is mentally fit to change his plea to guilty.

Esteban Santiago is taken from the Broward County main jail as he is transported to the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 9, 2017.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via Reuters, FILE

Santiago has been treated for schizophrenia since his arrest.

Santiago flew into Fort Lauderdale from Anchorage, retrieved a handgun from his checked luggage, loaded it in a bathroom and came out firing, prosecutors said. He told the FBI he was under government mind-control at the time.

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