Erie police detective to focus on unsolved homicides, other cold cases under grant program

Editor's note: A previous version of this story listed an incorrect date of death for Jose Rosario Jr.

Jose Rosario Sr. took notice in late 2021 when Erie police announced that, following an exhaustive investigation, they had identified and charged five suspects in two homicides and some other violent crimes in the city from 2018.

The killings that police said they resolved did not include the death of Rosario's son, 18-year-old Jose Rosario Jr., who was fatally shot inside his Reed Street apartment on Oct. 15, 2018.

"It was very disappointing," Rosario said.

It's been frustrating, he added, not having the case resolved and not knowing how the investigation into his son's death is advancing.

More:Pair charged in Erie crime spree say 2018 killings fueled by search for cash, drugs

Rosario has done everything he can to draw attention to, and keep the spotlight on, his son's murder, which remains unsolved. He has posted signs and distributed T-shirts, held memorial services and motorcycle rides, and posted information on social media in an effort to identify Jose Rosario Jr.'s killer and to bring that person to justice.

The case, which remains open and active by the Erie Bureau of Police, will likely get some extra attention in the coming months with the launching of a grant-funded program.

City police recently received word that they are being awarded $249,966 through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to appoint one of its seasoned detectives as a cold case investigator. The grant will cover the detective's salary, benefits, vehicle and associated costs over two years, said Rick Lorah, an Erie police deputy chief who oversees the bureau's Criminal Investigation Division.

Lorah said police plan to have the cold-case detective working by early October. The position will be posted and the person selected for it will be a veteran city police detective with a lot of major crimes experience, he said.

A backlog of cases

Lorah said Erie police applied for the grant in an effort to strategically reduce the number of old and unsolved crimes in the city. The bureau does not have anyone specifically dedicated to addressing unsolved homicides and other cold cases, he said.

"Some of these cases have grown stale and, unfortunately, stay stale as new cases, new homicides, new shootings come in weekly, sometimes daily," Lorah said. "When an investigation finally stalls out, and an investigator gets overloaded with new investigations, that's when the backlog occurs."

The Pennsylvania State Police have criminal investigation assessment officers assigned to each troop, including Troop E in Lawrence Park Township. The duties of those officers include working on cold cases, said Lt. Mark Weindorf, crime section supervisor for Troop E.

Cold cases are also assigned to criminal investigators in areas of the troop where the crimes occurred, Weindorf added.

Old homicides

Lorah said Erie police have over 20 unsolved homicides that have occurred over the past 10 years and many others that are older than that.

"These crimes merit a second look and the submittal of evidence, as well as re-interviewing witnesses. It's necessary to give the victims the justice they deserve," he said.

Among the notable homicides in Erie in recent years that remain unsolved are:

• The fatal shooting of Nelson Irizarry, 42, on April 14, 2012. Irizarry left a card game before he was found shot to death inside his Dodge Caravan in the 300 block of West 19th Street.
• The fatal shooting of Travon D. Green 20, on July 11, 2014. Green, an Erie native who was living in Baltimore at the time, was found lying in bushes between two houses in the 700 block of East 10th Street. He died of a gunshot wound to the back.
• The fatal shooting of Antonio "Jay" Yarger, 31, on Sept. 16, 2016. Yarger was shot as he was entering the front door of a residence where he was staying in the 1200 block of East 21st Street. Yarger's son, 7-year-old Antonio Yarger Jr., was fatally shot while walking with friends at the intersection of Downing Avenue and Fairmount Parkway on April 14. Four people have been charged in the boy's death.
• The fatal stabbing of James Allen, 34, on April 27, 2019. Allen was stabbed and two other people were injured during an altercation inside a former nightclub called The Culture at 1023 State St.
• The fatal shooting of Deltwan Keyes, 29, and Donta Carson, 34, on Aug. 3, 2020. The two were among a small group of people who were standing in the 700 block of East Seventh Street when someone opened fire on them.
• The fatal shooting of Kalvin Davis, 18, on July 1, 2021. Investigators said someone fired numerous gunshots into a duplex in the 500 block of West 29th Street, and Davis was shot as he was sleeping in a bedroom of one of the units.

The detective assigned to the new position in the Erie Bureau of Police won't work solely on homicides, according to police. Other cold cases that are expected to be a focus of the detective include the disappearance in June 2002 of Sabrina Kahler, then 20, who never returned to her family's eastside residence after going with a friend to swim in western Erie County.

More:Sabrina Kahler's family pushes to keep spotlight on Erie woman's 20-year-old disappearance

Cracking a cold case

Erie's cold-case detective begins work on the heels of the recent solving of one of the city's older cold-case homicides.

Erie police and Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz announced in July the filing of criminal charges against 55-year-old Jeremy C. Brock in the July 1988 murder of his grandmother, 76-year-old Helen Vogt.

Vogt was stabbed more than 50 times in her townhouse on Zimmerman Road. Brock, who was apprehended in Texas, was linked to the crime through DNA evidence and advancements in DNA technology, officials said in announcing the arrest.

Brock remains in custody in Texas, awaiting extradition to Erie to face charges in the homicide.

More:Cold case resolved as grandson charged in 34-year-old murder of Erie's Helen Vogt

Hirz said her office is excited about the new cold case position in the Erie Bureau of Police.

"As we have already seen, new technology can be used to examine evidence and provide insight that was previously unavailable to investigators," she said.

Authorities will also continue to seek assistance from the community, as the public also plays an important role in generating new leads in these cases, Hirz said.

"We look forward to collaborating with the detective to reinvestigate these unsolved murders in an attempt to bring long awaited justice for crime victims and their families," she said.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.