Rachel Mitchell, Maricopa County Attorney | Maricopa County Attorney'S Office
Rachel Mitchell, Maricopa County Attorney | Maricopa County Attorney'S Office
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced the sentencing of Manuel Carrasco Calderon for crimes related to the murder of Bernardo Pantaleon. Calderon received a three and a half year prison sentence, followed by four years of supervised probation.
The case stems from the November 26, 2023 murder of Pantaleon at Mountain View Park in Phoenix. Members of the North Side 15th Avenue criminal street gang were arrested in connection with the incident, though Calderon denied being part of the gang.
Calderon's charges included assisting the gang by mutilating Pantaleon's body postmortem. In December 2023, he was indicted on two counts: Assisting a Criminal Street Gang, a Class Three Felony, and Dead Person-Improper Practice, a Class Four Felony. By January 2025, Calderon pleaded guilty to both charges.
Two other defendants in this case, Leonardo Santiago and Jose David Rodriguez Soriano, remain in custody facing charges including murder and conspiracy to commit murder.