Suspect in recent shooting was ‘person of interest’ in 2015 homicide
A man suspected of kidnapping and then shooting a Washington man in South Franklin Township this month also was a “person of interest” in an unsolved execution-style murder in the city two years ago. Investigators were honing in on the possible involvement of Keith Anthony “Sin” Rosario in the slaying of Marius TreVaughn Chatman, whose partially nude and bullet-riddled body was found in the Seventh Ward playground about 4 a.m. March 4, 2015, Washington County court records show.
“The information obtained during this ongoing investigation indicates strongly that Chatman’s death was a result of a dispute with Rosario stemming from Rosario’s belief that Chatman was responsible for his being shot 2-20-15,” Washington Detective Dan Rush stated in court papers.
However, the investigation failed to produce enough evidence to make an arrest in the Chatman murder.
Rosario, 26, was arrested Sept. 6 in the shooting of Marcus Stancik in a remote area a day earlier. Rosario’s alleged co-conspirator, Richard Dewey Lacks Jr., 23, of Washington, also was charged last week in the alleged attempted homicide of Stancik.
Stancik, 30, told state police he was forced by Rosario and another man into the back seat of a vehicle in an alley off Route 40 in the Washington area and driven to Cove Road in South Franklin, where he was shot from behind in the neck, just below the skull. Sources close to the investigation said Stancik, who was stripped of his clothing that night, did not suffer life-threatening injuries, and was able to flee from his captors by jumping into a lake and swimming away. Police identified Rosario as the suspected gunman. Investigators said they knew little about Stancik, other than he had recently been staying at Rosario’s residence at 449 Ewing St., Washington, and that he has a criminal record.
Washington police have said that Rosario was the victim of a drive-by shooting about 10:45 p.m. Aug. 10 as he was preparing to leave his residence in a vehicle. He was not injured in the shooting, which happened on the same day as his release from state prison. His vehicle was struck that night by as many as five bullets.
Rosario had been imprisoned for selling cocaine and marijuana and having an unlicensed .38-caliber handgun after shots were fired in Washington in May 2013. He served the lower end of a 2 1/2-to-5-year sentence imposed in Washington County Court.
It wasn’t the first time he’d been the target of an apparent attempt on his life.
Court records show Washington police believed Rosario was wounded in a shooting outside a city bar two weeks before Chatman was killed. Chatman was reportedly in the bar when Rosario arrived that evening, and Rosario allegedly blamed him for setting him up to be shot.
Police received a report of shots having been fired at the time, but they were unable to find a victim or signs that anyone had been treated at an area hospital for a gunshot wound.
Chatman’s murder came just months after the death of Matthew E. McGlone, 21, of Washington, who was fatally shot Oct. 24. 2014, behind a bar on Jefferson Avenue. Police said Chatman, 24, and McGlone knew each other but that they weren’t enemies. McGlone’s killing remains unsolved.
Rosario wasn’t the only city man to come under suspicion following Chatman’s death. Two slugs recovered from Chatman’s body reportedly matched a round from a gun that Patrick Speer was accused of discharging during a 2014 home invasion on West Hallam Avenue.
Speer, 44, died in Washington County jail last year while facing charges stemming from the home invasion. His death was not considered suspicious.
Dennis Paluso, first assistant district attorney in Washington County, said Thursday he could not comment on the Chatman case because it remains an open investigation.
Lacks and Rosario were charged by state police in the Stancik case with attempted homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and conspiracy. Lacks was placed in Washington County jail on $1 million bond. Rosario was denied bond and sent to jail by District Judge Ethan Ward.
Both men are scheduled to appear before Ward at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 25 for a preliminary hearing.