In a brief hearing Monday afternoon at the Berryville courthouse, Joseph Santiago entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder in the death of his brother, Alex Santiago. The plea removed possibility of the death penalty.
Before pronouncing a life sentence, Circuit Court Judge Scott Jackson said he “found factual basis” for the plea. Jackson said Santiago would remain in custody of the Carroll County Detention Center until his transfer to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Carroll County Prosecutor Tony Rogers told the court the investigator who handled the case and the parents of the two young men both approved the plea bargain.