Warrant: Execution-style killing at Stamford hotel may be tied to violent Venezuelan gang
The details come the day after Moises Alejandro Candollo-Urbaneja, 23, was charged with murder in the death of Angel Samaniego, 59, of Stamford.
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An execution-style killing at a Stamford hotel seven months ago may be tied to the infamous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, according to a new arrest warrant.
The details come the day after Moises Alejandro Candollo-Urbaneja, 23, was charged with murder in the death of Angel Samaniego, 59, of Stamford. Samaniego was discovered in a room at the Super 8 Hotel by cleaning staff on the morning of Oct. 14. According to his new arrest warrant, the night before, he took a bullet to the chest while his hands, feet and mouth were bound with duct tape. Stamford police believe a nearby pillow was used to muffle the sound of the gunshot.
Candollo-Urbaneja was arraigned on the new charge on Tuesday in Stamford Superior Court, with Stamford State’s Attorney Paul Ferencek calling the murder, “nothing short of an execution.” Ferencek also said the prosecution’s case is extremely strong and requested bond be set at $7 million, which the judge granted.
Candollo-Urbaneja and Gregory Marilin Galindez-Trias, known as Marilin Galindez, have been in custody on larceny and identity theft charges in connection to the case since shortly after the homicide.
According to the new warrant, Candollo-Urbaneja had no connection to Samaniego, but Galindez-Trias was in a relationship with him for about a year, during which he often gave her money and paid her expenses.
Over that time, Galindez-Trias told Samaniego she was on the run from Tren de Aragua and wanted a new start with her two kids, ages one and three, the warrant said. Samaniego was trying to help her start a new life, according to police, and booked her and the kids a room at the Red Carpet Inn starting Oct. 12.
On the evening Samaniego died, Galindez-Trias texted him that she spotted Tren de Aragua members in the inn parking lot and was scared for her life, the warrant stated. Police said Samaniego told her to grab the kids and her belongings and meet him at the Super 8 Hotel.
Security cameras at the Red Roof Inn showed an Uber pick up Galindez-Trias and her two kids, along with Candollo-Urbaneja, who’d been staying with them unbeknownst to Samaniego, the warrant stated. It said prior to arriving at the Super 8, Candollo-Urbaneja got out and bought duct tape at a local gas station, then walked over to the hotel where Galindez and the kids had been dropped off.
According to the warrant, security cameras captured Samaniego 20 minutes later walking into the hotel, where police believe Galindez-Trias and Candollo-Urbaneja were waiting for him. Forty-three minutes later, both suspects and the kids left the hotel—with Galindez-Trias wearing different clothing than she arrived in—and headed toward Samaniego’s car, which they took off in, the warrant said.
Police tracked the car to Detroit, Michigan, where it had been sold. They also said surveillance video from a gas station there showed the two using the victim’s debit card. Condollo-Urbaneja and Galindez-Trias were arrested on Oct. 16 in Rensselaer, New York, after police were alerted to the victim’s credit card being used at the Amtrak station there.
According to the warrant, both suspects mentioned Tren de Aragua during brief interviews with police in Rensselaer. Candollo-Urbanejo allegedly said that if he said anything to police, the gang would kill him and his family, adding, “They are more powerful. They are everywhere.” Galindez-Trias said she was concerned that if Tren de Aragua found them, they’d kill her kids, the warrant stated.
On Oct. 21, Candollo-Urbaneja and Galindez-Trias were arraigned in Stamford Superior Court on multiple larceny and identity theft charges. At the time, the prosecutor said that more serious charges were coming once the investigation was complete. Assistant State’s Attorney Margaret Moscati told the court that a piece of paper was recovered from the co-defendants that had the victim’s credit card/debit card information as well as his PIN and what looked to be blood.
According to the new warrant, testing confirmed it was the victim’s blood. Both suspects’ DNA was found on that paper and the duct tape used on Samaniego, the warrant said. Police also discovered the clothing that Galindez-Trias wore to the hotel left behind at the crime scene, stained with the victim’s blood.
It's unclear whether Galindez-Trias will also be charged with murder. She remains in custody on the lesser charges and is due in court on May 21.
The warrant also included phone calls made her while in custody, which were recorded by the Connecticut Department of Corrections.
In a call between Galindez-Trias and her mother, Galindez-Trias denied being part of Tren de Aragua, claiming she worked for the gang for three months but no longer wanted to, and they’d threatened to kill her and her whole family, the warrant said.
The warrant also referenced a later call between Galindez-Trias and a potential love interest in which she said Samaniego became a target of Tren de Aragua after he texted her about going to the FBI to help her. Galindez-Trias implied Condollo-Urbaneja was part of Tren de Aragua and said on the night of the homicide, she told Samaniego to leave because she didn’t want him to die, the warrant said. That’s when Condollo-Urbaneja allegedly grabbed her, put the gun to her head, then put it to her one of her kid’s, saying it was her life or Samaniego’s. “I had to do it, love. Family comes first,” Galindez-Trias said during the call, according to the warrant.
Police told News 12 they are hoping to speak about the case next week.
