Posted: Nov 08 2008 at 11:28pm | Views: 128117
Here's more about Joseph Roman (Hoodie)
AMW FUGITIVE DATA FILE FOR:
Joseph Roman
Bronx Detective Hunts Former Employee
Det. Kenny Kearns had mixed feelings about pursuing alleged killer Joseph Roman. That's because Kearns remembers Roman as a likeable kid who worked in the McDonald's restaurant the detective's family runs in the Bronx.
Roman spent his first 13 years in Delaware, but moved to the Bronx after his mother apparently abdicated her parental responsibilities. The boy's father, a boxer of some local renown, "did the best he could, " according to the detective, sending the boy to Catholic school.
An exceptional athlete, Roman received a basketball scholarship to Dominican College, north of the city. But less than two years later, Kearns noticed the teen back in the Bronx, forsaking his father's efforts to run with gangbangers and drug dealers.
"The streets got him, " Kearns says.
Cops tell us Roman charged after him, cornering his prey between two parked cars.
Roman Does Not Take A Holiday
In March, the detective says he had a violent encounter in a crowded shopping area, after a reputed drug associate became involved with the girlfriend of another neighborhood tough named Daniel Wallace. Because Roman's friend had recently been arrested for gang assault and was out on bail, he was wary about confronting Wallace himself.
Instead, cops say, Roman filled in as a surrogate, beating Wallace in the street.
Wallace apparently went home and grabbed a hammer, tracked Roman down and bashed him in the head. Police say that Roman then returned to his own home and grabbed a gun.
Just up the block from Macy's department store in the Bronx's Parkchester section, Roman allegedly stuck the gun into Wallace's neck and pulled the trigger. The weapon jammed, and Wallace raced toward the entrance of the store.
Cops tell us Roman charged after him, cornering his prey between two parked cars. There, police say, Roman fatally shot Wallace three times.
Surveillance footage shows Roman fleeing the scene. He's been on the run ever since.
"There were people in one of those parked cars, " Kearns says. "There were shoppers all over the place. Do you know how easy it would have been for a stray bullet to hit an innocent person?"
The suspect's apparent indifference to the safety of others has prompted Kearns to disregard his fond memories of Joseph Roman, and to apprehend him before he hurts someone else.
Information valid as of last update.
Homicide, Bronx, NY
