Man Dies, Another Gets Homicide Charge After Fight in Vernon

VERNON, CT — Two residents of the Rockville section of Vernon who have had numerous run-ins with police fell off a loading dock earlier this week in a fight over booze that left one of them dead and the other with a negligent homicide charge, police said.

At 4:24 p.m. Sunday, Vernon police responded to an alley behind 20 East Main St. and found an unresponsive man, according to a report. Basic life support measures were provided to the man, later identified as Robert Ignatowicz, but he was pronounced deceased at the scene, police said.

According to a warrant, Ignatowicz and James King Jr. began arguing over a bottle of vodka and a bottle of cola and began pushing each other on top of an elevated loading dock.

They both fell off the loading dock and onto the pavement below, according to a warrant.

Ignatowicz sustained serious head injuries and subsequently, died, according to a warrant. Others were present during the scuffle and some witnesses told police they thought Ignatowicz was simply drunk and therefore did not come to his aid, according to a warrant.

Autopsy results show that Ignatowicz died of "blunt injuries to the head and neck" and his death was ruled a homicide, according to a warrant.

An arrest warrant was issued for King's arrest on Thursday and he was taken into custody, police said. King was charged with criminally negligent homicide and second-degree breach of peace. He was held overnight on a $50,000 surety bond and was to appear in court Friday.

King, 49, has been arrested 26 times and spent a year in jail for a 2008 assault, according to a warrant. In addition to assault, he has been arrested for larceny, burglary, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree arson, first-degree criminal mischief and taking a car without permission, according to a warrant. His last known address was on Talcott Avenue in Vernon.

King has also been arrested in Florida for drunken driving, according to a warrant.

Ignatowicz was in his early 60s and was considered homeless, according to police. His most notable encounter with the cops was in 2016, when he was arrested for stealing beer and using a grocery store motorized car as a getaway car just hours after he was in court for breaking into a box truck and sleeping during the Vernon fireworks show, police said.

Police said a short time after he left Rockville Superior Court for the truck incident, Ignatowicz went to the Rockville Stop & Shop, stole two 30-packs of Budweiser and fled in one of the motorized carts available to customers with mobility issues.

Photo Credit: (King at left, Ignatowicz at right) Vernon Police

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