NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, February 3, 2004
 

BENIGNO VARGAS, WANTED FOR MURDER, APPREHENDED BY HARTFORD FUGITIVE TASK FORCE

(Hartford) - At approximately 10:00 p.m., on Monday, February 2, 2004, Benigno Vargas, DOB 10/11/79, wanted in connection with the murder of Ricardo Knotts on January 20, 2004, which occurred in the area of 98 Brook Street, Hartford, was apprehended by the Hartford Police Department's Fugitive Task Force.  Benigno, on the run since January 20, 2004, is being held on $1.5 million dollar bond and scheduled for arraignment this morning in Hartford Superior Court.

On January 20, 2004, at approximately 12:40 a.m., Hartford Police Patrol Units responded to 98 Brook Street on a report of a person shot.  Upon arrival, Patrol Officers located a male victim on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.  The victim was immediately transported via ambulance to St. Francis Hospital where he was pronounced dead, and subsequently, through fingerprint identification, identified as Ricardo Knotts, age 20, of Hartford.

On January 22, 2004, Detectives of the Hartford Police Department's Major Crimes Division identified Vargas as a suspect in this case.  A wanted poster and description was circulated throughout the area, published in electronic and print media, and on the Hartford Police Department's website site. The wanted posted indicated that the weapon from the homicide had not been recovered and Vargas was considered armed and dangerous.

In commenting on the apprehension of Vargas HPD Chief Mark Pawlina stated, "The Hartford Police Fugitive Task Force, since its inception last month, has been extremely effective in taking dangerous people off city streets.  It is our top priority within the Department, on a continuing basis, to round up dangerous fugitives so that they will not be able to wreak havoc on our streets.  The Task Force, comprised of representatives from the F.B.I., the U.S. Marshall's Office, the State Police, Adult Probation, and the Hartford Police Department, is doing an excellent job."

Contact:   Nancy Mulroy, Public Information Officer, Hartford Police Department,  (860) 543-8746
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