Police: Armed murder suspect arrested after brief struggle

STAMFORD — A man wanted on a murder charge was taken into custody after a brief struggle between him, a city police officer and an MTA agent, according to police.

City police had been on the lookout for Ernest Rosario, 20, of Harlem, N.Y., since an arrest warrant on a murder charge stemming from a December 2020 shooting was granted by a judge earlier this month.

Stamford Police Capt. Richard Conklin said Rosario was identified as the key suspect in the slaying of 49-year-old Jeffrey Vanech, a Stamford resident who was fatally shot multiple times as he sat inside his vehicle at the corner of Henry Street and Cedar Street on Dec. 7 last year after a “lengthy and complicated investigation.”

Conklin declined to go into the details of the investigation when asked on Monday.

Conklin said patrol officer Timothy Speer observed an individual fitting Rosario’s description “acting suspiciously” in the area of the Stamford Train Station.

Conklin said Speer approached the man and asked him for identification. At first, Conklin said the man provided Speer with what was later confirmed as fake ID, but when Speer attempted to detain him, the man allegedly began trying to swallow what appeared to be crack cocaine that he had in his possession.

As a result, the two briefly wrestled until a nearby MTA officer came to Speer’s aid, Conklin said.

The man, who was later identified as Rosario, was in possession of a loaded 9-mm handgun with an

illegal high-capacity magazine and a “large amount” of crack cocaine at the time, Conklin said.

“It was a very dangerous situation where you had a murder suspect with a loaded weapon,” Conklin said. “This was an excellent arrest by Officer Speer,

who was out there by himself. This is a good example of proactive police work.”

Rosario was charged with murder, as well as charges of carrying a firearm without a permit, possession of a highcapacity magazine, interfering with police, possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell and operating a drug factory for the Thursday incident.

He was held on a $2.5 million bond for

the murder charge, and an additional $250,000 bond for the other charges.

On Monday, Conklin praised Speer and an investigative team spearheaded by Sgt. Jennifer Lynch for their contributions to Rosario’s arrest.

“The Department hopes that this arrest will assist the Vanech family in getting closure and a sense of justice for the tragedy they have endured,” Conklin said.