Suspect in deadly Holyoke Mall shooting pleads guilty

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - The suspect charged in connection to the deadly shooting at the Holyoke Mall in 2023 has plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Western Mass News was in court with a camera rolling Thursday morning as Kenneth Santana-Rodriguez appeared before a Judge.

During the hearing in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield, 27-year-old, Santana-Rodriguez plead guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 33-year-old, Trung “Michael” Tran.

Tran worked at Touch of Beauty Hair and Nail Salon inside the mall and was an innocent bystander in the incident.

It happened on the evening of January 28, 2023. Police believe Tran had been attending to Santana-Rodriguez when another individual, known to Santana-Rodriguez, came into the salon.

“Through the defendants’ initial statements and more than a dozen witnesses at the salon, it was discovered that Santana-Rodriguez was getting a pedicure with his girlfriend when a male party... unknown to the defendant approached him and an argument ensued. It is alleged (this male individual), the supposed ex of Santana-Rodriguez’s girlfriend, lifted his shirt to reveal a portion of a firearm,” noted Lauren LeBel, with the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.

That’s when the confrontation escalated even further with Santana-Rodriguez firing a gun that he had. Trans was ultimately hit and died on scene from the gunshot wound he sustained.

Police responded and arrested Santana-Rodriguez in the salon. They say he was armed when they arrived.

[WATCH: Video of the scene, Arraignment in deadly Holyoke Mall shooting ]

“After being taken into custody, Santana-Rodriguez told officers that he was the person responsible for the shooting and that he had an active license to carry (LTC) for a firearm, which was later confirmed by investigators,” explained LeBel.

Following his arraignment in Holyoke District Court and subsequent indictment on murder in the first degree by a Hampden Superior Court grand jury, the case wound up before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court with Santana-Rodriguez and his attorneys arguing in favor of a lesser charge saying he fired the gun in self-defense.

The state’s highest court in October 2025 ruled in favor of that argument, saying he could use that defense “...Unless the Commonwealth can prove that the act was reckless...the only possible conviction is involuntary manslaughter, not murder.”

[ READ MORE: Court rules Holyoke Mall shooting suspect can claim self-defense ]

Now, less than a year after that ruling, Santana-Rodriguez whose been in jail since the shooting, has plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Tran.

He’s been sentenced to 3 to 5 years in state prison, but because of time he’s already served, he’s expected to be up for parole almost immediately.

[WATCH MORE: 2023 Holyoke Mall shooter submits guilty plea, receives sentence]