Nicholas DeLeon, 36, pleaded not guilty in court Friday morning to a host of charges, including the murder of his girlfriend’s 19-year-old son.
DeLeon was arrested Thursday afternoon near Avenue D and Joseph Avenue after a chase. During that chase, DeLeon fired two shots at police before tossing his 9 mm pistol out of the car window. The car was stopped and DeLeon arrested. The female driver of the car was a relative of DeLeon’ and so far has not been charged.
DeLeon has been charged with murder, criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of attempted aggravated murder of a police officer. He’s suspected of killing Christian Santiago on Lamont Place on Wednesday. Santiago is the city’s 64th homicide victim of the year.
One of the officers who was fired on by DeLeon returned fire. Both officers have been placed on desk duty while an internal investigation is conducted.