Three suspects in the killing of a Stamford jewelry store owner have been charged, authorities said Thursday.
The three New York residents were charged with federal robbery offenses in connection to the fatal shooting of Mark Vuono, 69, at his store on March 28, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced in a release.
Stamford police responded to a report of a shooting at Marco Jewelers in late March. When officers arrived, they found Vuono lying on the ground in front of an open safe. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency crews.
The chief medical examiner’s office said he died from a bullet wound to his head and ruled his death a homicide.
Officials were able to track down the men after obtaining surveillance footage from the jewelry store that showed the men arriving in a black jaguar. One of the men and Vuono struggled for awhile in front of the open safe, according to officials, before the man shot and killed Vuono.
Authorities arrested two of the men on April 4 on unrelated charges in connection with a prior robbery of a jewelers in Greenwich and a stolen vehicle from a Yonkers, New York, car dealership in mid-March.
Officials said the three men had extensive criminal records and met while serving time in jail.
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“These three defendants are alleged to have committed a brazen, violent robbery that left an innocent victim dead,” Durham said. “The FBI, Stamford Police, Greenwich Police and our other law enforcement partners have conducted an extraordinary investigation that resulted in the quick apprehension of these three men before they could wreak any additional havoc.”
