Johnluis Sanchez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and firearm offenses after a stray bullet struck a pregnant bus passenger in 2023.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Holyoke man convicted in a 2023 shooting that resulted in the death of an unborn child was sentenced Thursday to 18 to 20 years in state prison for involuntary manslaughter, according to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.
Johnluis Sanchez, 33, was sentenced Sept. 17, one week after a Hampden County jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter, illegal carrying of a firearm and illegal carrying of a loaded firearm. The case stems from an Oct. 4, 2023, exchange of gunfire on Sargeant Street in Holyoke. A stray round struck a passing Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus and hit Saszkiana “Selena” Santana, who was about eight months pregnant. Her unborn son, later named Ezekiel, died as a result of the shooting.
Sanchez received 18 to 20 years in state prison on the manslaughter conviction. He also received four to five years for illegally carrying a firearm, with that sentence to run at the same time as the manslaughter sentence. A separate sentence of 2½ years in the House of Correction for illegally carrying a loaded firearm is to be served after the firearm sentence, prosecutors said.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Sanchez and Alejandro Ramos were waiting outside a market for Kermith Alvarez-Vargas before the shooting. Prosecutors said Sanchez attacked Alvarez-Vargas with a firearm after Alvarez-Vargas left the market. Alvarez-Vargas was also armed, and gunfire was exchanged among the three men. During that exchange, a bullet struck the bus carrying Santana.
Santana was not involved in the confrontation. At Sanchez’s sentencing, she delivered a victim impact statement describing the lasting effect of the shooting and the loss of Ezekiel. She said she hoped her son’s name would give others a reason to put down guns, walk away from conflicts and consider the people who can suffer long after an act of violence.
Sanchez had initially faced a murder charge in connection with Ezekiel’s death. During his trial, his defense argued that he acted in lawful self-defense during the confrontation. The jury ultimately convicted him of the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter along with the two firearm offenses.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said after the sentencing that the case showed how gunfire can harm people who have no connection to the dispute that caused it. He also credited the prosecutors and victim advocate who handled the case, which he described as presenting difficult legal issues.
Sanchez was the first of three defendants accused of taking part in the gunfire to stand trial. Ramos and Alvarez-Vargas were also charged in the case. Two other people, Jose Galarza and Jay Marie Rosado-Rosario, were indicted on accessory-after-the-fact charges stemming from allegations that they helped Alvarez-Vargas after the shooting.
The case against Alvarez-Vargas is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 4, according to the district attorney’s office. Proceedings involving the other defendants remain separate from Sanchez’s conviction and sentence.
Author note: Last updated September 18, 2026.