On November 1, 2019, a 44-year-old Hispanic man named Roberto Fonseca-Rivera was driving his Katsiroubas Produce truck along Route 103 in Vermont when his life was tragically cut short. A dedicated employee, he was on his regular delivery route, having just left Rutland, when he was fatally shot. Concerned colleagues, noticing his truck's GPS had been stationary for an unusually long time, alerted the authorities.
Police discovered Fonseca-Rivera deceased inside the cab of his truck, having sustained a gunshot wound to his head and neck.
The investigation into the seemingly random act of violence spanned multiple states and involved a meticulous review of surveillance footage, GPS data, and other electronic evidence. Detectives were able to piece together the moments leading up to the shooting, identifying a Toyota Tundra pickup truck that was driving directly in front of Fonseca-Rivera's vehicle. Evidence suggested the fatal shot was fired from the vehicle in front of the produce truck. Just before he was killed, Fonseca-Rivera was on the phone with a friend and had complained about a vehicle in front of him that was driving erratically, speeding up and slowing down. The friend reported hearing a deep inhale and then a loud noise before the line went silent.
The investigation led authorities to Jozsef Piri, a doctor who, at the time, lived in Connecticut but owned a property in Londonderry, Vermont. Investigators determined Piri was the driver of the Toyota Tundra and was returning from his Vermont home on the day of the shooting. According to police, Piri, an avid firearm enthusiast, was having a "sh*t day" due to expensive repairs at his Vermont property and was in a hurry to get to an event in Connecticut. Although the two men did not know each other, Piri was arrested in Florida in December 2021 and charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
