WXXI — Rochester Police have made an arrest in the shooting death of Officer Tony Mazurkiewicz and the wounding of his partner, Officer Sino Seng.
Early Friday evening, police said that a 21-year-old suspect, Kelvin Vickers, who is from the Boston, Massachusetts area, was charged with 2nd degree murder, attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Police say that shortly after 9 p.m. on Thursday, Mazurkiewicz and Seng were parked in an unmarked vehicle on Bauman St., just south of Laser St. They were there to gain intelligence as part of an ongoing murder investigation.
Authorities say Vickers approached the vehicle from behind, and while hiding behind large shrubs, he fired approximately 17 rounds at the vehicle from about 10-15 feet away. Mazurkiewicz was sitting in the driver’s seat, and was struck at least twice in the upper body. He later died at the hospital.
Seng, sitting in the passenger’s seat, was hit once in the lower body, but was able to get out of the car and return fire. Police say Vickers was not hit by the bullets and ran away. A 15-year-old girl was grazed by a bullet that penetrated the walls of her house.
Seng was treated at the hospital and released.
Vickers was later located hiding in the 2nd floor crawl space of a nearby vacant house. He was taken into custody without incident.
Police say that a handgun was recovered and preliminary testing indicates that was the gun used to shoot the two officers and the 15-year-old girl.
RPD, along with state and federal officers also executed six search warrants at various locations within the city. They say that nine firearms including handguns and assault style rifles were recovered along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and about 100-pounds of marijuana.
There was no immediate word on any connection between those search warrants and the murder suspect.
Police say that Vickers has an extensive criminal history. The Democrat & Chronicle reports that at his arraignment on Saturday, more than 100 uniformed members of the RPD packed the courtroom. Vickers entered a not guilty plea. He is being held without bail. The District Attorney's office expects to present the case to a grand jury.
