Man, 34, shot dead in South Toledo

7/15/2009

Several people have been interviewed in connection with the shooting death yesterday of a man behind the South Toledo apartment building in which he lived, authorities said.

Rogelio Carlin-Espinosa, 34, of 1217 Vanderbilt Drive, was found shot at about

6:10 a.m.

He was pronounced dead at the University of Toledo Medical Center, formerly the Medical College of Ohio.

His death is the 15th homicide recorded in Toledo this year.

Toledo police Capt. Ray Carroll said none of those interviewed was a suspect, and none spoke English. The interviews were done through a Spanish interpreter.

Rose Salazar, a neighbor in the building, said that Mr. Carlin-Espinosa and his girlfriend had lived in a two-bedroom apartment on the third floor of the 12-unit building.

"I didn't know him well, but he seemed like a really nice guy," she said of the deceased man. "He spoke Spanish, and I don't speak Spanish. The only English word I ever heard him speak was 'Hi.'•"

Captain Carroll said Mr. Carlin-Espinosa's pickup was parked in the rear of the building and had bullet holes.

Ms. Salazar said that she had been a resident of the building for five years, and she estimated that Mr. Carlin-Espinosa had lived there for six to eight months.

She said she had no plans to move.

"Nothing like this has happened before," she said.