Iowa teen gets life in prison for fatal drive-by shooting near a school

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Another Iowa teenager was sentenced Monday to life in prison for a fatal 2022 drive-by shooting near Des Moines East High School.

Alex Santiago Perdomo, 17, pleaded guilty last year to first-degree murder. He was 15 at the time of the shooting, according to the Polk County prosecutor, who said Perdomo will have a chance at parole. His public defense attorneys did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment Monday.

Police say Perdomo was among 10 teens ages 14 to 18 armed with at least six guns who drove in multiple vehicles to a neighborhood near East High School, only a half mile from the Iowa Capitol. The specifics of their plan aren’t clear, but police say the teens were out to settle a grudge and fired on Jose Lopez, his sister, one of her friends and two other teens standing on a sidewalk nearby.

The gunfire hit Lopez, his sister and their friend, killing Lopez and seriously wounding the girls.

Perdomo is the second teenager in the group to receive a life sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. A third teen who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder will be sentenced next year, after he turns 18, prosecutors said.

Four others who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder received sentences ranging from 20 to 70 years in prison. One member of the group who pleaded guilty to providing a pistol or revolver to a person under 21 received a suspended sentence of four years.

The other two remaining defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison on various other charges.