On a Friday evening in Buffalo, New York, a burst of gunfire shattered the peace, leaving a man fatally wounded. The victim was 50-year-old Wilfredo 'Tito' Justiniano, who was shot multiple times in the hundred block of Pennsylvania Street near Lakeview Avenue on March 27, 2020. Emergency services responded to the scene, but Justiniano ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The incident prompted an investigation by the Buffalo Police Department's homicide detectives, who began searching for those responsible for the violent act that took Justiniano's life.
The investigation led authorities to two suspects, a man and a woman. A few days later, on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, members of the U.S. Marshal's Violent Felony Warrant Squad located and apprehended 37-year-old Josean Roman-Cruz and 35-year-old Elsa Escalera-Flores in the nearby town of Amherst. Following their capture, both individuals were handed over to Buffalo homicide investigators for their alleged involvement in Justiniano's death.
Following their arrest, both Roman-Cruz and Escalera-Flores faced serious charges. Roman-Cruz was charged with murder in the second degree, as well as criminal possession and criminal use of a firearm. In addition to the charges related to the homicide, he also faced a weapons count in the Town of Amherst. Escalera-Flores was also charged with murder and weapons possession counts, accused of aiding Roman-Cruz in the commission of the crime.
