Florida officials charge Alex Baez for murder of Jose Santos, man found in shallow grave
A Florida man was arrested Tuesday for the murder of Jose Santos, the man found in a shallow grave on November 11.
Alex Baez
Alex Baez, age 22, of Clemont faces first degree murder charges. Police have been searching for an unidentified man witnessed to be walking with Santos into the an orange grove near Belvoir Drive. Santos was found in a shallow grave in that grove.
Baez had already been arrested by Polk County police for violating probation in connection to a burglary and grand theft.
According to the arrest affidavit, Baez told a witness on the day of the murder that he had killed Santos “during a drug rip” and that “he could not sleep because he could still hear him screaming.”
The unnamed witness who was at Baez’s house a few days after the slaying to buy marijuana, told detectives that Baez told him he had an accomplice in the crime.
The witness told detectives that Baez said he and the accomplice dug a hole in the orange grove before luring Santos out of his house.
“When the victim arrived at the pre-dug hole; Baez shot him with a handgun,” the witness said. “After being shot the victim fell in the hole and was covered up by Baez” and his accomplice.
Cellphone records show that the potential accomplice and Baez exchanged phone calls from around 1:20 a.m. to 2:45 a.m. and again from 4:25 a.m. to 6:15 a.m.
