SANTIAGO — A regional manhunt is active across Santiago after a fatal stabbing Thursday night that grew out of a minor gambling dispute, local law enforcement confirmed this week. The Dominican National Police announced they are continuing targeted search and intelligence operations across multiple neighborhoods in the district to locate Alexander Torres Lara, who is also known by the aliases Ezequiel and El Sade. Authorities have named Lara as the primary suspect in the killing of Domingo Andrés Acevedo Peña, a local man who went by the nickname El Rubito.
The deadly attack unfolded in the La Yagüita sector of the Pastor neighborhood, according to preliminary law enforcement investigations. The fatal confrontation began during a casual dice game, when a trivial disagreement over a 50-peso bet spiraled into violence.
Witness accounts and initial investigative findings detail that Peña pressed Lara to cover a 50-peso match bet. The pair was playing for a 500-peso pot, and Peña told Lara he had already exhausted all his cash after a streak of losses. When Lara refused to put forward the required 50 pesos to match the bet, the disagreement quickly escalated into a heated argument that turned into a knife fight. Perita was fatally wounded in the altercation, and he was pronounced dead at the scene by responding emergency personnel.
Immediately after the incident, the suspect fled the neighborhood to avoid arrest. Since then, National Police teams have been carrying out coordinated sweeps and intelligence-gathering work across the Santiago region to track down Lara, with investigators confirming that they are following multiple leads to determine the suspect’s current whereabouts.