Alleged Burglar Charged in Woman's Death Captured

A man facing homicide charges for allegedly causing a woman's fatal heart attack during a burglary has been caught.

Rogel Suero was still at large in November when he was charged with criminal homicide in the death of 76-year-old Wilson resident Carrie Smith.

On Thursday, he was picked up by authorities in Texas, according to Patricia Mulqueen, the assistant Northampton County district attorney handling his case.

Mulqueen said she wasn't sure of the circumstances behind Suero's arrest.

She said Suero waived extradition, and should be back in Pennsylvania soon. 

According to police, Smith suffered a heart attack after her granddaughter Rebecca Johnson and Suero -- Johnson's boyfriend -- burglarized Smith's home on Hillside Avenue last January.

Suero and an accomplice -- who has yet to be identified -- allegedly woke Smith up, threatened her, and put a pillowcase over her head, and took cash and jewelry from her safe.

Police say the stress of the robbery caused Smith to have a heart attack. She died two months later, and the county coroner ruled her death a homicide, since it resulted from the heart attack, which resulted from the robbery.

Smith's death was the second homicide in the borough in as many years. In 2011, Easton resident Jose Santiago was killed in a hit-and-run crash on the 1600 block of Northampton Street. 

Kelly Marazas, a Wilson resident, plead guilty to homicide by vehicle while drunk, aggravated assault by vehicle, driving while under the influence, and other offenses in connection with the crash.