A group of concerned citizens in Lebanon City held a rally on Friday calling for the removal of a judge who earlier this year released triple homicide suspect Alex Torres-Santos on bail for other drug offenses.
Magisterial District Judge Aurelis Figueroa presided over hearings in February and March in which Torres-Santos, 22, was facing charges for allegedly shooting the same man in the leg on two separate occasions.
On March 30, Judge Figueroa lowered Torres-Santos’ bail from $100,000 to $50,000. He then posted bail and was remanded to house arrest with an ankle bracelet monitor.
Torres-Santos allegedly went on to shoot four people on Tuesday, including two young boys, ages 8 and 9.
“She let these people out that shouldn’t have been out on bail. Make no mistake; we’re here because of the family. And this mom lost three children,” said Terry Lerch, a Myerstown resident who was at the protest outside the Magisterial District Court in Lebanon.
The Lebanon County District Attorney’s office wrote in a statement,
“Over objection, Magisterial Judge Aurelis Figueroa of Lebanon City lowered bail to $50,000.00; if SANTOS posted bail, Judge Figueroa ordered SANTOS wear a house-arrest bracelet. SANTOS
subsequently posted bail and wore a house-arrest bracelet pending trial. SANTOS wore his
bracelet to the homicide; the location monitor and minimal bail imposed by the Judge thus served as no deterrent to a violent criminal willing to take a life.”
Judge Figueroa was elected in 2021 as the first Latina magisterial district judge in Lebanon County. Her term lasts six years.
“Judges make decisions and it affects people’s lives. It started out with parking tickets that she won’t enforce. Everybody is upset with her in this town: the mayor, the judges, lawyers, and she’s had at least 30 complaints,” said Lerch.
A spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania said they couldn’t discuss complaints or investigations into judges until charges are filed. However, they pointed out that even if a judge makes a poor decision regarding bail—as long as it falls within the state’s bail determination criteria—it is not necessarily misconduct.
Protesters said it wasn’t just the judge that allowed this crime to happen.
“Why wasn’t [Torres-Santos] monitored better? Does it fall back on his probation officer? Does it fall back on the judge? It’s just a lot of questions that we don’t have answers to,” said protester Lori Washington of Lebanon. “But as a mother and a grandmother, I can’t imagine what that family is going through for losing their children because of poor judgement. He should have never been released.”
Torres-Santos’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 15, again before Judge Figueroa.
This time, bail was denied.