Santos Meléndez Granados sentenced to life for murder

• Santos Meléndez Granados sentenced to life in prison.
• He killed Carlos Mena Pineda.
• Pineda was dating his ex.

Santos Meléndez Granados was sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing Carlos Mena Pineda in Houston, Texas.

The murder was motivated by anger and jealousy.

Carlos Mena Pineda was dating Santos Perfecto Meléndez Granados’ ex-girlfriend.

Before you continue reading, we invite you to listen to the new Crímenes de Terror podcast by clicking HERE.

To listen to the podcast click on the image

The woman’s name is being withheld to protect her privacy.

The case against Santos Meléndez Granados reveals details of the brutal crime motivated by a dangerous obsession.

Judge Danilo Lacayo of the 182nd Criminal District Court in Harris County sentenced Granados.

Now he is waiting to be transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison where he will serve his sentence.

Santos Meléndez Granados sentenced to life in prison

The Homicide Division of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) was in charge of the investigation.

It all started Santos Meléndez Granados’ girlfriend broke up with him because his jealousy became too much for her.

She decided to start over, she moved to her own apartment and later met Carlos Mena Pineda with whom she established a relationship that made her happy.

However, she did not realize that her jealous ex-boyfriend had been stalking her.

Carlos Mena Pineda was murdered right in front of his girlfriend

At 9:00 p.m. on September 23, 2021, Carlos Mena Pineda and his girlfriend were walking through the parking lot of the Huntington at Stonefield apartment complex at 13100 Stonefield Drive.

Suddenly, Santos Perfecto Meléndez Granados appeared out of the darkness and fired at least two shots at his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.

After the shooting, Granados escaped under cover of the night.

However, his ex recognized him.

Santos Perfecto Meléndez Granados’ ex identified him as the shooter

Santos Perfecto Meléndez Granados’ ex testified that she moved to that complex two months earlier, after they broke up.

She explained that she did not understand how her jealous ex-boyfriend Santos Meléndez Granados knew where she lived because she had cut off all contact with him.

HCSO detectives were able to obtain images of Santos Meléndez Granados sitting in his truck for several hours at the crime scene.

After Carlos Mena Pineda was shot, his girlfriend and other neighbors called the authorities.

Police searched for the suspect

Carlos Mena Pineda was rushed to an hospital north of Houston, Texas, to be treated for his injuries.

However, he was pronounced dead in the emergency room.

Detectives from the HCSO Homicide Division then issued the arrest warrant for Santos Perfecto Meléndez Granados.

Before the murder, Santos Meléndez Granados had a record of stealing BMWs and Cadillacs.

Santos Meléndez Granados had a history of car theft

Santos Meléndez Granados had been arrested for the car thefts.

However, judges dismissed the charges in four of those cases.

Granados is an immigrant but the case documents do not say what country he is from.

He is currently waiting to be transferred to the TDCJ prison where he will spend the rest of his life behind bars, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.