(WBRE/WYOU) — A high-speed police pursuit, a carjacking, a home invasion, and shots fired. It's all part of a chaotic, dangerous chain of events that spanned two local counties, and now we know the man at the center of that chaos is wanted for murder in Connecticut.
Isaac Cintron
32-year-old Isaac Cintron is facing homicide charges in Connecticut for allegedly shooting and killing 43-year-old Heriberto Cotto.
According to the City of New Haven Department of Police Services, on December 24, around 8:00 p.m., officers were called for a person shot. On the scene, officers found Cotto unresponsive with gunshot wounds; he later died at the Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Officers said they discovered ballistic evidence in the street, along with the victim’s car, and were able to determine that the victim was involved in an argument with another person before being shot.
Eventually, investigators linked Cintron as the suspect involved in the homicide case.
On December 30, Pennsylvania State Police were notified of a stolen vehicle out of New Jersey traveling on Interstate 80. Butler Township Police discovered the reportedly stolen vehicle at Dunkin’ on North Hunter Highway.
Cintron, listed as homeless in Connecticut, was driving the SUV. Police tried to get Cintron out of the SUV, but he refused and fled onto I-80 driving east in the westbound lanes, troopers noted.
While driving the wrong way on I-80, investigators stated Cintron hit another car, exited his vehicle, shot a pistol at another driver, chased the car, and kept firing the gun until Cintron ran into the woods.
Cintron walked to the Sand Springs Community, and a homeowner called 911, informing police that Cintron entered their house, threatened them with a gun, and demanded keys to their car, as stated in the affidavit. The homeowner said they were able to chase Cintron out of the house; however, shortly after, Cintron threatened a woman at gunpoint and stole her vehicle, according to court documents.
Multiple police units caught up with Cintron and found him driving on I-80, and state police tried to pull him over, but he ignored them, causing a chase to begin, police stated.
The chase ended in Schuylkill County when Cintron crashed after going over spike strips. Around a dozen police vehicles surrounded the SUV before one trooper appeared to smash one of the windows to remove the driver.
At the time, state and local police did not know they were chasing a murder suspect.
"It could have been a lot worse. There was gunfire by the suspect at that point. Thankfully, nobody got seriously injured, and throughout the whole incident, no trooper, nobody else got injured, and not one shot was fired by local or state police," Pennsylvania State Police Hazleton Trooper Anthony Petroski said.
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"At any given time, with the violence and the violence he used here. I think he probably would have used it against police officers, if he had the opportunity, or he would have used it against someone else if they resisted or given a fight," Butler Township Police Chief Bill Feissner stated.
New Haven, Connecticut Police held a news conference Wednesday to announce that they had the evidence to prove that Cintron shot and killed 43-year-old Heriberto Cotto on Christmas Eve. Cotto's sister says they just want justice.
"Nobody has the right to take somebody's life..It doesn't matter what he's doing," murder victim's sister Yaris Beth Cotto said.
Cintron is being held in Pennsylvania while awaiting extradition back to Connecticut.
Reporter Andy Mehalshick will have more on the Cintrons' arrest in later editions of 28/22 News.
