Marco Santos Alvarez

A hardworking father of four, Marco Santos Alvarez was celebrating his 33rd birthday on June 4, 2021, a day that ended in his tragic and senseless death. Remembered by his wife, Sandra Santos, as a good husband and a good friend, Marco was dedicated to providing for his two sons and two daughters. His life was abruptly cut short in a violent encounter that unfolded in front of his wife and one of his children.

That evening, around 7:45 p.m., Marco was shot and killed in his own apartment complex on the 4100 block of The Woods Drive in South San Jose, California. The preliminary investigation by the San Jose Police Department revealed that the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a parking space. When officers arrived at the scene, they found Marco suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His death was recorded as the 19th homicide in San Jose that year.

In the aftermath, detectives with the SJPD Homicide Unit launched a comprehensive investigation that quickly identified a suspect: Uatesoni Joseph Paasi, then 27 years old. Investigators learned that Paasi had a conversation with Marco just before the shooting and fled immediately after. An arrest warrant for homicide was issued, but Paasi had already absconded. Police determined he had fled the United States and was hiding in Mexico. He was known to have ties to California's Peninsula, South Bay, and East Bay areas, as well as San Diego, Hawaii, and Tonga.

For more than four years, Marco's family pleaded for justice. "On June 4th, my husband's life was snatched away, leaving our four children and myself alone, practically," his wife Sandra said at a press conference in October 2021. "I ask everyone, please, if anyone knows anything, to report him, and have pity on us because it's something very difficult for all of us." Marco's mother traveled from Mexico to join the plea for public assistance. The San Jose Police Department offered a $10,000 reward for information that would lead to Paasi's capture and extradition.

The relentless efforts of San Jose detectives, who chased leads for years, eventually narrowed their focus to a town in Baja California, Mexico. In a collaborative effort with the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force and Mexican authorities, Uatesoni Joseph Paasi, then 31, was located and arrested in Rosarito, Mexico, on November 22, 2025. "If you want to play hide and seek, know that we will find you, no matter what country you cower in,” said SJPD Chief Paul Joseph. “Our relentless pursuit of dangerous and violent suspects is not defined by borders."

On December 2, 2025, Paasi was extradited back to the United States and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on a murder charge. As of December 2025, he was awaiting further court proceedings. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the San Jose Police Department's Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283.