Killer learns fate as he will spend decades in jail for brutal pipe attacks on homeless people on streets of NYC

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 03:03, 29 May 2026 | Updated: 03:21, 29 May 2026 The New York City killer who fatally attacked four homeless people with a metal pipe was sentenced to 40 years-to-life in prison on Thursday. Randy Santos, 31, killed the four men, ranging in ages from 39 to 83, on October 5, 2019, as they were sleeping across different locations in Chinatown. As she sentenced Santos, Judge Laura A. Ward of State Supreme Court in Manhattan said the killer was representative of the 'coming together of three horrible symptoms of this city: homelessness, mental illness and narcotics abuse.' 'I've been on the bench for about 30 years and those are the three things that seem to be the constant in almost all of our violent crime cases,' Ward said, per The New York Times. Ward added that she had a 'difficult time getting past the fact that [he] targeted the most vulnerable people in our society.' 'People who were doing nothing but sleeping on the street, homeless,' she told Santos. Ward said she had reviewed surveillance video of the attacks prior to the sentencing. Santos had been convicted of four counts of murder in the first degree, one count of attempted murder in the first, one count of attempted murder in the second and one count of attempted assault in the first in February. Randy Santos, 31, was sentenced to 40 yeas-to-life in prison on Thursday for killing four homeless men in New York City on October 5, 2019 Santos, pictured in court on Thursday, apologized for his actions and said he 'wish[ed] it never happened' Blood could be seen at one of the Chinatown crime scenes where the homeless men were fatally attacked Santos spoke at his sentencing in English, asking Ward for a sentence that would allow him to 'be somebody' after serving his time in prison. 'I just want to say, I'm very sorry for what I did,' Santos said, per the Associated Press. 'I apologize to the people for what I did. I feel very bad about what I did. I wish it never happened.' He added that he would finish school and keep improving his English while in prison. Santos also told the judge that his 'mind [was] much better now' and that he felt like a different person. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Alfred Peterson lamented that there were 'no victim impact statements here today.' 'There's nobody here to tell this court about their lives and how their absence is a loss,' Peterson told the judge. 'But I'm certain this court and this city understands the value of every life, and the gift of life that we're afforded to live and make choices and have free will,' he said. Peterson, who was emotional as he spoke, added that Santos had taken that 'gift' away from the victims. He said the case was a 'a study in how the life of a young man can go off track so horribly,' while acknowledging that Santos 'clearly has his own challenges in life, much like the victims.' The NYPD released this photograph showing the piece of metal that Santos used to beat to beat the four sleeping homeless men to death Blood splattered at the Bowery crime scene after Santos' attacks in October 2019 Santos was eventually arrested by New York City Police Department officers around Mulberry and Canal Streets Santos' first victim was Anthony Manson, 49, who he fatally attacked with a metal bar as the latter slept outside of 17 East Broadway. Prosecutors said Santos bashed Manson over the head with the bar approximately seven times, killing him in the process. Immediately afterwards, Santos crossed the street to 2 East Broadway and attacked a group of three sleeping men on the sidewalk. He left, then returned to attack the group again, killing Nazario Abdelardo Vazquez Villegas, 55, and Florencio Moran Camano, 39, and seriously injuring David Hernandez, 49. Santos then crossed the Bowery neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, where he found Cheun Kok, 83, sleeping near Doyers Street. He also attacked Kok with the bar, hitting him in the head three times and killing him. Eyewitnesses called 911 and Santos fled with the weapon. He was arrested by New York City Police Department officers around Mulberry and Canal Streets. Law enforcement also found Hernandez around the same time, and he was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. After Santos was taken into custody, authorities also identified him as the perpetrator in an incident that September during which a homeless man sleeping near the waterfront at Chelsea Piers was attacked. Santos, pictured at Manhattan Criminal Court in June 2023, told the judge that his 'mind [was] much better now' and that he felt like a different person Santos' defense lawyer, Arnold Levine, had asked for the convicted killer to 'not be sentenced to die in prison' Police loading cardboard boxes that appears to be dirtied with blood into Chinatown's 5th Precinct Mourners gather after a funeral service for Chuen Kok, an 83-year-old homeless man bludgeoned to death by Santos At Santos' trial, the defense argued that his schizophrenia, diagnosed months before the killings, had led to the heinous attacks. Santos has gone back and forth from jail to psychiatric treatment facilities since being arrested. 'We ask that Mr. Santos not be sentenced to die in prison,' Arnold Levine, Santos' defense lawyer, told Ward. 'He is not incorrigible or beyond redemption or hope,' Levine added. However, the judge was not convinced and Santos was sentenced to 40 years-to-life in state prison. After the sentencing, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Santos' murders had shaken New York City 'He displayed an appalling disregard for the lives of his victims, who were completely defenseless and unable to protect themselves,' Bragg said. He added: 'Unhoused individuals deserve the same level of safety as anyone else, and I hope the resolution of this case serves as a reminder of the work that remains in protecting and supporting our most vulnerable residents.' In total, New York City's homeless population could be more than 350,000 homeless, according to the Coalition for the Homeless. The Daily Mail has reached out to Santos' lawyer, Levine, for comment. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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