A grand jury in Forsyth County, North Carolina, this week indicted a Winston-Salem teenager, Sarah Lindsey Santiago, on three charges of murder in connection with the May 18 shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. The perpetrators of that attack, 17-year-old Cain Clark and 18-year-old Caleb Vazquez, killed themselves shortly afterward. Santiago was not present during their crimes, and her alleged participation consisted mainly of helping to livestream the attack and posting the killers' manifesto.
Because Santiago aided and abetted Clark and Vazquez, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill said at a press conference on Monday, she is guilty of first-degree murder, which in North Carolina is punishable by a mandatory penalty of life in prison without parole when the defendant is 18 or older. Since Santiago is 17, she could, if convicted, receive a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years based on a claim of "mitigating circumstances."
