Relatives 'amazed' by teen's crime spree

The Miami Herald ^ | Mon, Nov. 05, 2007 | DORIAN MERINA

[nin_kasi]

NEW YORK -- Family and friends gathered Sunday at a funeral home in the Bronx to remember Eric Rosado, the 14-year-old shot and killed while robbing a South Miami-Dade grocery store last week.

Many wondered why the teen, who moved to South Florida in 2005 and returned home to be buried, had suddenly gone astray.

Rosado, a freshman at Cooper City High School, died when a store manager who was being robbed pulled out a gun and shot him.

Police said the teenager's two accomplices in the attempted holdup of the Diaz Grocery Store in Naranja on Tuesday -- and in other mom-and-pop grocery robberies since October -- were his 32-year-old girlfriend, Ivona Sanchez, who is the mother of one of his friends, and Sanchez's sister, Bonie Saldarriaga, 30.

The two women have been charged with second-degree felony murder for the death of their young accomplice, killed in the commission of a crime.

In the Bronx, where Rosado was born and raised and had scores of relatives, shock spread through his funeral.

''We were amazed,'' said Rosado's older sister, Jackie Alvarado, upon hearing the news that her brother had been killed. ``It was not the person that we knew.''

Those who knew Rosado before he moved to Florida described him as a serious student.

''He was always trying to protect people, not hurt them,'' said Jennifer Avallone, his fifth-grade teacher at PS 280. ``All the teachers loved him.''

The small room at the funeral home on 192nd Street filled up with people as afternoon turned to evening. A wreath of pink and white flowers covered the open casket where Rosado's body lay.

The boy's mother sat in the front row during the wake. At one point her sobbing filled the room. ''My God, my God,'' she cried out in Spanish. ``Why?''

Two years ago, Candida Alvarado moved with her son to Florida. Family described Alvarado as a hard-working single mother who stayed involved in her son's life. The move was an attempt to take Rosado away from the tough Bronx streets.

''She wanted to isolate him from the environment here,'' said Rosado's cousin, Juan Cordero, who was one of the last to speak to Rosado before his death.

But the move brought new challenges. Soon, he met Sanchez -- and his life changed.

Rosado's family said his behavior changed. ''My little cousin was stressed. He wasn't the same,'' said Cordero, 22. He said Rosado seemed preoccupied all the time. ``It's like he wasn't there.''

Yet even while Rosado grew increasingly distant from his family, those still close to him said he continued to remember important events.

He made it a point to attend the baby shower for Cordero's first child last May.

He called his sister Jackie when she gave birth to a baby boy in August.

And when another sister, Wanda, got a new job as an administrator of a general pharmaceutical company, he phoned to say congratulations.

''He was just family based,'' said his sister, Wanda, 26.

[nin_kasi]

This in in reference to http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918915/posts . Word on the street is that he was 15 (per the police report), not 14. Police are also saying that he used a plastic gun in this stick-up. Had he lived, he might have been charged with improper use of a toy.

[2banana]

Police said the teenager's two accomplices in the attempted holdup of the Diaz Grocery Store in Naranja on Tuesday -- and in other mom-and-pop grocery robberies since October -- were his 32-year-old girlfriend, Ivona Sanchez, who is the mother of one of his friends, and Sanchez's sister, Bonie Saldarriaga, 30.

I am amazed that a 14 year old had a 32 year old girlfriend - AND THE PARENTS DID NOTHING!

[Teacher317]

They’re all “A-students” and “good kids” up until the bullets fly... then we’re all “shocked”.

[Anonymous Rex]

Had he lived he would have been charged with robbery.

[Steely Tom]

For another few billion, we could have saved him. (Old Rush bit).

[PBRSTREETGANG]

“He was such a good boy.”

[SJSAMPLE]

"My baby dint hurt nobody !!!"

[gridlock]

I am amazed that a 14 year old had a 32 year old girlfriend - AND THE PARENTS DID NOTHING!

If folks are scratching their heads and wondering where things went wrong, I think I would look in that direction.

It is bizarre that people are so reluctant to apply common sense that the fact that this woman was more than twice as old as her 15-year-old boyfriend passes completely without comment in this article. We wouldn't want to offend anybody, after all.

[dennisw]

Cooper City Teen Killed In Store Robbery MIAMI (CBS4) ― A Cooper City teen killed during an armed robbery at a South Florida convenience store was reportedly part of a trio of crooks that had been targeting grocery stores in Naranja. 14-year old Eric Rosado allegedly took part in the robberies with his lover; his best friend's mother who was more than twice his age, and her sister. 32-year old Ivona Sanchez, her sister 30-year old Bonie Saldarriaga and Rosado are accused of two other Naranja store robberies in mid-October. CBS4's news partners at the Miami Herald report the trio's plan was simple. One of the women would first enter the store and buy something. When the cash drawer was open, a ski-masked Rosado would enter the store carrying a BB gun and steal the cash. The other woman would act as a look out and as the get away driver. Last Tuesday, their plans when horribly wrong when a store manager pulled his own gun and shot and killed Rosado. Both women have reportedly confessed to the robberies. They are now charged with those crimes. Saldarriaga who drove Rosado to the robbery where he was shot is also charged with a second-degree felony murder charge. Rosado will be buried in the Bronx on Monday.

[whipitgood]

I saw no mention of the boy’s father, just the mother.

[Badeye]

‘The boy’s mother sat in the front row during the wake. At one point her sobbing filled the room. ‘’My God, my God,’’ she cried out in Spanish. ``Why?’’ ‘

Because he tried to rob somebody, thats ‘why’.

[dandelion]

It’s sick that the article would refer to a 32-yr-old woman as this 14-yr-old boy’s “girlfriend”. This *8tch sexually exploited a child, then enticed him to do the dirty work on her OWN crime spree. This was child endangerment and corruption of a minor, pure and simple. She’s the perpetrator, and she should be charged in his death, since she influenced him to commit these crimes.

[al_c]

It is bizarre that people are so reluctant to apply common sense that the fact that this woman was more than twice as old as her 15-year-old boyfriend passes completely without comment in this article. We wouldn't want to offend anybody, after all.

Unless, of course, she was a teacher. Then it would have been plastered across the headlines.

[edcoil]

14-year-old shot and killed, two accomplices, 32-year-old girlfriend, Ivona Sanchez, who is the mother of one of his friends, and Sanchez’s sister, Bonie Saldarriaga, 30.

A 14 year old with a 32 year old girlfriend. Is she being charged as a a pedophile?

[ArrogantBustard]

That just sorta jumps right out at you, doesn’t it? In addition to armed robbery, Mizzzzzz Sanchez should be facing charges of felony murder and statutory rape.

[gridlock]

Unless, of course, she was a teacher. Then it would have been plastered across the headlines.

Only if she was good-looking...

[stylin19a]

Many wondered why the teen, who moved to South Florida in 2005 and returned home to be buried...

reads funny...

[mockingbyrd]

32 year old girlfriend????

Try statutory rapist......

[org.whodat]

I am amazed that a 14 year old had a 32 year old girlfriend

Guess those Amish people are like that. LOL

[piytar]

Police are also saying that he used a plastic gun in this stick-up. Had he lived, he might have been charged with improper use of a toy.

Not so. In most states, if you commit robbery with a toy gun, you can still be charged with armed robbery.

[org.whodat]

"My baby dint hurt nobody !!!"

You did see that his mother was speaking Spanish, didn't you.

[AD from SpringBay]

I am amazed that a 14 year old had a 32 year old girlfriend - AND THE PARENTS DID NOTHING!

I caught that one too. But the article does not mention a father. It's just bad history repeating. This 'good boy' needed parenting; someone to sit on him and MAKE HIM MIND. I realize that's old-fashioned thinking - but why do people buy into this notion that teens are just supposed to run wild and do whatever they want while the parent(s) pray they make it through those 'troubled years'?

[freekitty]

What the heck is a 14 or 15 year old boy doing with a 32 year old woman?

[mewzilla]

The move was an attempt to take Rosado away from the tough Bronx streets.

So you move to Miami-Dade?!?

[diogenes ghost]

Just damn.

Does EVERY post with humor in it have to have a sacasm tag?

Did Captain Obvious rip out you funnybone?

Is your forehead flat from too many "DOH" moments?

[ArrogantBustard]

I think the question needs to be asked the other way around ... what the heck is a 32 year old woman doing 'messing around' with a 14 year old boy?

Did you catch that she's the deceased's best friend's mother? That's a bit icky. IMO.

[nin_kasi]

Lol, thanks for catching on. Of course, if you’re being threatened with anything that resembles a lethal weapon, you respond accordingly. I feel the employees did the right thing, even if we find out this kid brought a toy to a gunfight.

[from occupied ga]

What the heck is a 14 or 15 year old boy doing with a 32 year old woman?

You need to ask?

[blam]

"A 14 year old with a 32 year old girlfriend. Is she being charged as a a pedophile?"

It's okay...she's a girl.

[JoeSixPack1]

Broward, not Dade.

[mewzilla]

Okay, thanks!

So you move to Broward?!?

[JoeSixPack1]

LOL! :-)

[najida]

Unless she’s a school teacher,
then the whole thread would be about
“there is NOTHING wrong with an older woman
educating a younger boy about sex.”

[najida]

Yep,
if she’s good looking, then it would be “where were those mom’s when I was a kid!”

[arthurus]

If the lady moved to Florida to get away from those “rough streets” then chances are she had already noticed some problems.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

It’s things like this that make me miss the 1950’s.

Man, is this country ever going down the toilet on the express lane, to mix a metaphor.

[Marie2]

But you know, sometimes it’s true, even with adults. People are volatile. The “nicest” people end up being the most horrible criminals. You just never know, whether dealing with kids or adults.

[gunservative]

The media never have a sympathetic interview with the shopkeeper who is defending his business.

[Squawk 8888]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the reason the parents did nothing is because they knew nothing. Remembering my own teenage years, I would say that most parents know *far* less about their own kids than they think.

[Squawk 8888]

I’ll take it further and suggest that this woman was the instigator of the robberies and was just using the kid to that end.

[Squawk 8888]

Yep, that’s the law in Canada too. If you point a toy gun at somebody you will be charged with “pointing a firearm”. Under the Criminal Code, anything you present as a firearm is legally a firearm- even if it’s your finger in your pocket.

[gridlock]

I’ll take it further and suggest that this woman was the instigator of the robberies and was just using the kid to that end.

Certainly a 32-year-old woman can exert tremendous influence on a 15-year-old boy. The words "lead around by his nose" come to mind.

[Squawk 8888]

The words "lead around by his nose" come to mind.

Somehow I doubt that is was his nose by which she was leading him ;-)

[slugbug]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the reason the parents did nothing is because they knew nothing.

My thought too...especially since the 32 year old girlfriend was the mother of his friend...how easy would it be to tell mom that you are going over to your friend's house? She would likely assume it was to visit his friend-not the friend's mother!

[highimpact]

She’s the perpetrator, and she should be charged in his death, since she influenced him to commit these crimes.

She was.

"The two women have been charged with second-degree felony murder for the death of their young accomplice, killed in the commission of a crime."

[Larry Lucido]

“The two women have been charged with second-degree felony murder for the death of their young accomplice, killed in the commission of a crime.”

[sportutegrl]

I guess he found out the hard way that, unlike NYC, Miami shopkeepers shoot back.

[ArrogantBustard]

right there in black and white ...

[Brytani]

Sorry, this is Miami-Dade, right up from Homestead, about the farthest S you can get in Miami-Dade. As much as I’d like to blame this on Broward, geography (and living here) makes it impossible.

[dandelion]

Wow, right there and I missed it.
Of course, that’s what I have *you* for... :D

Next time, glasses. I’m having that “over-forty” feeling.