A Dominican national who fled the U.S. after a fatal shooting at a Lawrence house party in 2022 was held without bail during his arraignment on a murder charge in superior court on Monday, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Jose Luis Sanchez, 27, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in connection with the death of 38-year-old Lawrence resident Luis Mendez, the district attorney’s office said in a press release. Mendez was shot to death in the basement of 210 Market St. in Lawrence around 2 a.m. on April 25, 2022.
Sanchez was previously charged with murder in Mendez’s death out of Lawrence District Court, but fled the country before he could be arrested, the district attorney’s office said previously. In October 2024, he was apprehended in the Dominican Republic, where he remained until his extradition to the U.S. on June 13, 2025.
Sanchez was arraigned on the initial charge soon after his extradition and held without bail, the district attorney’s office said. Authorities have not specified a motive in the killing, but said previously that they did not think it was a random act of violence.
No further information has been released.
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