Bio

Carlos Santana was born on October 10, 1952. He grew up in the Dominican Republic. His early life was marked by hardship, including extreme poverty. Santana faced difficulties during his childhood and, like many in his community, struggled to find opportunities for a better life.

As a young man, Carlos moved to the United States. He settled in Houston, Texas, where he worked as a mechanic. He had skills in electrical work and tried to make a living. However, he faced challenges that left him feeling jobless and despondent. His emotional state worsened after the death of his mother, which deeply affected him.

Murder Story

On April 21, 1981, Carlos Santana and his accomplice, James Ronald Meanes, stole an armored car in Houston, Texas. The vehicle was driven by security guard Oliver Flores, who was 29 years old. While Flores was picking up a deposit at the Sage grocery store, Santana and Meanes approached the armored van. Santana was armed.

As Flores exited the van, the robbers confronted him. Shots were fired, and Flores was struck, resulting in his death. After shooting Flores, Santana and Meanes broke the window of the armored van and ordered a female guard, Dorothy Wright, out of the vehicle. They then drove off in the stolen armored van.

Within an hour, police arrested Santana and Meanes a quarter-mile away from the robbery scene. The men were charged with the murder of Oliver Flores and the robbery of the armored van, which carried $1.1 million.

Both Santana and Meanes were convicted and sentenced to death. Meanes was executed in 1998. Santana faced execution as well. His lawyers argued that he had suffered abuse as a child and was in a fragile emotional state due to his mother's death. Despite appeals and efforts from officials in the Dominican Republic to stop the execution, Santana was executed by lethal injection on March 23, 1993. He was pronounced dead at 2:54 a.m. Santana was the 55th person executed in Texas since the death penalty was resumed in 1976.