Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old man in northeast Baltimore early Tuesday morning.
Based on preliminary reports, the victim, identified as Nathaniel Augusto Santiago, was approached by two people while entering an apartment building in the 4100 block of Harris Ave. in the Belair-Parkside community at about 12:35 a.m., police said.
They got into a fight and wound up at the side of the building, where the victim was shot in the chest and back, according to police. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the motive did not appear to be robbery but did not know whether Santiago was familiar with his attackers.
Santiago was later pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The killing is the third in the tiny northeast Baltimore community this year.
Court records show Santiago was twice — at ages 14 and 17 — charged with murder in the 1990s, with the charges dropped at the District Court level both times. In the 2000s, he was indicted at the federal court level in two separate drug cases.
In 2002, he was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison on drug distribution charges, and in 2006 received five years and 10 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Records indicate he may have been released in the past year.
justin.fenton@baltsun.com
liz.kay@baltsun.com