HENRY COUNTY — Two New York men apprehended by a Hancock County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop were charged with murder this week in their home state, reports state.
In September, Deputy Nick Ernstes, team coordinator for the multi-jurisdiction task force PACE team, pulled over a vehicle on eastbound Interstate 70 in Henry County.
The driver was following the vehicle in front of him too closely and had paint covering the vehicle’s license plate, a news release stated.
After a high-speed chase, police found drugs in the car and arrested the men. Days later, officials learned they are suspects in a murder in New York, a press release stated. Now, they are formally charged with the crime.
During the Sept. 6 traffic stop, the driver and passenger were acting suspicious, so Ernstes asked the driver, Louis Iacono of Brooklyn, New York to get out of the car, according to a news release.
Instead of getting out of the vehicle, Iacono sped away, leading Ernstes on a high-speed chase along I-70 and onto State Road 3 in New Castle, a news release stated.
After driving for about 12 miles, the driver stopped the vehicle in front of the Walmart Supercenter on State Road 3 in New Castle and fled into the store on foot, according to officers.
As he ran through the aisles, officers saw him taking off clothing items to avoid being recognized by responding officers from the New Castle Police Department, Indiana State Police and the Henry County Sheriff’s Department, officers said.
The vehicle’s passenger, Vincent Iacono, also from New York, remained in the car and was arrested by Ernstes, a news release states.
Once officers searched the car, they found heroin, pills, paraphernalia and pain strips, a news release states.
The two suspects were arrested on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges and booked into the Henry County Jail.
A few days later, members of the PACE team were contacted by homicide detectives for the New York City Police Department _ Brooklyn South.
The detectives told officers the brothers they’d just arrested are suspects in a homicide investigation involving the murder of their roommate, Carmine Carini of Brooklyn, New York, according to a news release.
Carini was found murdered about Sept. 1. His body — which was dumped in a waterway in Brooklyn — was wrapped inside a tarp, his legs bound with an extension cord and a cinder block chained to his legs, according to a press release. Investigators determined Carmine’s skull had been crushed by a blunt object, likely a hammer, according to a press release from the Kings Island District Attorney’s office.
For the past two months, Ernstes, Henry County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Goodwin and Indiana State Police Trooper Sgt. Kris Martin have assisted the New York Police Department homicide detectives with search warrants and collecting evidence.
This week, the brothers were arraigned in New York before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog on an indictment in which Louis Iacono is charged with second-degree murder and Vincent Iacono is charged with first-degree hindering prosecution, the press release states.
Both men are charged with tampering with physical evidence.
Louis Iacono was remanded without bail, and Vincent Iacono was held on $250,000 bail, according to the press release.
Louis Iacono faces up to 25 years to life in prison, and Vincent Iacono faces up to 25 years in prison.
They’re both expected to appear in court again in February.
