LONGWOOD — Police have arrested a man who they believe broke into an apartment he once rented and fatally shot the current occupant in the head during an attempted robbery late Tuesday, police sources said.
Jason Tomczyk, 34, of Norwood, was arrested Wednesday morning just hours after the incident and charged with murder in the shooting of Johnson Sanchez, 23, authorities said.
Tomczyk kicked down the door to his former apartment, where Sanchez currently lived, on Hoe Avenue near Aldus Street at about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday and burst inside, sources said.
He found Sanchez and his girlfriend there and demanded money, according to sources.
“[Sanchez] says, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’” the source said. “[Tomczyk] has a weapon in his hand. Struggle for the weapon. One shot is fired, and [Sanchez]’s struck in the head.”
Sanchez was soon rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
After the shooting, Sanchez’s girlfriend rushed out of the apartment and quickly found two officers on Hoe Avenue, sources said, which falls within a police “Impact Zone” — a crime hot spot where extra officers are deployed.
By the time the cops reached the apartment, Tomczyk was gone, but they were able to gather a detailed description of him from the girlfriend and other witnesses, sources said.
“We had a name, I’d say, within an hour and a half of the person we were looking for,” the police source said.
Tomczyk has two prior arrests, including a felony gun conviction, for which he was out on parole, the source said.
Israel Rodriguez, who lives nearby on Hoe Avenue, said Sanchez was a barber at a local shop.
Shooting is a persistent problem on the block, Rodriguez said, which he has frequently complained about to police commanders and even in a letter to the mayor.
“I’ve been bringing this up for years and years,” he said. “Too many people die.”
