Man Rejects Plea Offer In 2021 Stamford Road Rage Death: Report

STAMFORD, CT — A Stamford resident charged in connection with the death of a 71-year-old man during a road rage incident from 2021 rejected an offer from the state this week, according to the Stamford Advocate.

The Advocate reported that Emmanual Matias, 28, rejected an offer to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for a prison sentence of eight to 10 years.

Following the rejection, the case was placed on the trial list, the Advocate said, noting it will remain on the list until jury selection or attorneys reach a disposition agreement.

Stamford resident Michael Frank Gentile died at Stamford Hospital on Nov. 18, 2021, from injuries sustained during an altercation that took place with Matias the day before, according to police.

Matias was originally charged with second-degree assault of an elderly person, and held on a $250,000 bond. In December 2021,charges were upgraded to manslaughter.

Stamford police said around 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 17, 2021, the department received calls about a fight on Cold Spring Road near the area of Long Ridge Road. Police said a minor car accident happened just prior.

According to the arrest warrant for Matias, Stamford police officer Leslie Lugo wrote that upon arriving at the scene, a Dodge pickup truck and Honda were in the roadway, and Gentile was "on the ground unconscious, bleeding from the face, nostrils and back of his head."

Police said in the warrant that a minor collision occurred on Cold Spring Road between a pickup truck, driven by Gentile, and a Honda, which Matias was in with two siblings. The two cars eventually stopped.

Police noted in the warrant the front bumper of the Honda was partially detached from its body.

Lugo said Matias told police Gentile hit the car he was in, and tried running it off the road. Matias said he punched Gentile in the face in self-defense because Gentile was "reaching for something in his car," according to the warrant.

Before the assault, witnesses said Gentile was "calmly interacting" with Matias, the warrant said.

Video footage also shows Matias punching and pulling at Gentile’s door prior to the assault, the warrant said.

Lugo wrote that surveillance footage from a nearby business showed Gentile "standing in between both vehicles with his arms down to his side in what appears to be a non-aggressive posture" prior to being hit by Matias.

After the assault, Lugo wrote in the warrant, one of Matias's siblings engaged with a bystander who witnessed the incident and said, "You crash someone, you get knocked out."

Read more from the Stamford Advocate on the offer rejection