Boston resident Edwin Santo, aged 23, has been sentenced for multiple robberies targeting elderly individuals, according to official reports from Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden. Santo, who perpetrated these crimes over two summers, will now face 10-12 years in state prison, following a recent conviction. He was found guilty of five counts of unarmed robbery of persons aged 60 and above, and received an additional sentence for a count of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, as reported by the Suffolk District Attorney's Office.
This series of robberies, conducted between June 10, 2023, and August 11, 2024, saw victims in Roxbury, Mattapan, and Hyde Park lose valuable necklaces to Santo's schemes. Most of the incidents involved Santo forcibly taking necklaces, but on a particularly egregious occasion, he broke into a private residence. The criminal spree concluded with Santo's arrest by federal agents in Philadelphia, the information on his location having been shared by Boston investigators.
During sentencing, Judge Mark Hallal ordered a prison term for Santo and decreed a probation period of three years following his eventual release. The courtroom also heard an impact statement from a victim related to one of the elderly targets, who lamented Santo's choices by stating he "is young and could have taken a different route in life and tried to find a job or hustled to make ends meet but decided to target a vulnerable population," as noted by the District Attorney's Office. Evidently, the judge and those affected saw the potential for a different path, one unchosen by Santo.
DA Kevin Hayden underscored the particularly heinous nature of Santo's actions, saying, "Edwin Santo made calculated, cold-hearted decisions to prey on those with the least ability to defend themselves," as per the District Attorney's Office. These victims were not just any residents—they were often immigrants who came to the United States and built their lives through earnest effort, in sharp contrast to the defendant's methods of acquiring wealth, his words carrying a palpable weight in the courtroom.
