Police press for more clues in Rt. 103 homicide

By Shawn Cunningham and Cynthia Prairie
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC

One week after a Boston truck driver was found shot to death in his produce delivery truck on Route 103 in Rockingham, a large contingent of Vermont State Police were out at the scene hoping to jog drivers’ memories to help with the investigation.

Last Friday, Roberto Fonseca-Rivera’s body was found in the Katsiroubas Brothers produce delivery truck he had been driving. He was killed by a single bullet to the head and neck.

Then today, Friday, Nov. 8,  the Vermont State Police conducted a detail to contact motorists at the site of the shooting. Detectives and troopers handed out flyers from 12:45  to around 2 p.m., speaking with motorists and hoping to find potential witnesses in the case. The detail was held at around the same day of the week and time of day as the shooting with the hope of finding drivers who make regular trips through the area. You can read the flyer here.

Then at 1:30 p.m., Lt. John-Paul Schmidt of the Major Crime Unit spoke to reporters at the Westminster Barracks to explain the purpose of the flyer distribution.

Schmidt said police are asking the public for anything they may have seen in the area including anything suspicious or that might seem “odd or unusual.”  He also said that some things that members of the public may not think were important may be helpful to police.

“I don’t have major, substantial updates,” said Schmidt.  “Obviously the case is still an active homicide investigation.”  Schmidt said that he could not disclose details because it could “hinder the investigation.”

Schmidt declined to give any other details of the investigation including whether Fonseca-Rivera was shot at the site where his truck was found.

“We’ve collected a lot (of information) in the past week that we are still processing,” said Schmidt.

He also would not name other police agencies that state police are working with in this investigation.

Schmidt did confirm that police have been looking for video footage from surveillance cameras along the route Fonseca-Rivera traveled from Rutland to Rockingham.

“For the past week, troopers have proactively done door-to-door canvassing for video … with mixed results,” said Schmidt. He noted that some video had been collected, but not yet processed by police. “We’re trying to get video before it’s overwritten in the system,” he said.

Anyone with information about the truck or who may have any tips to pass along about the case is asked to call the Vermont State Police barracks in Westminster at 802-722-4600. Tips may also be submitted anonymously online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit