According to authorities, a 50-year-old man was killed last night in a laundromat at Stillwater Ave. and Fairfield Ave.
A passerby noticed an open door at the establishment during the early morning hours, entered, and discovered the man lying on the ground, Lt Diedrich Hohn said.
James Decrescenzo, 50, of 26 Main St., whose name StamfordPatch respectfully held until police confirmed the family had been notified, reportedly sustained blunt force trauma during the incident. Decrescenzo was taken to Stamford Hospital where he later died.
Neighbors said Decrescenzo was an employee of Uncle Buck's Laundromat, opening the store at 7:30a.m. and staying until 11 p.m. to close up. Hohn is calling the incident a robbery/homicide.
Hohn said they're still testing the camera system in the building to see if it was functional at the time, but neighbors said it was common knowledge the cameras were mostly for show. A camera on a building across the street had a tree in front of it, whihc may have obscured the camera's line of sight.
"There's not enough money in there for no one's life," said one neighbor. "What are you going to get, some quarters? They're cowards to kill someone over some change."
Lots of neighbors gathered as Tuesday morning drew on. "Jimmy" had a lot of fans who were showing up to mourn him as news circulated around town about his death.
"He was really nice... he helped a lot of people out here," said Sharnell Goethe, 18. "I was basically raised by him. My mom would come down to do laundry and I'd spend time with him."
A man who rode up on a bike couldn't believe someone he'd seen day-in and day-out around the neighborhood was gone.
"Man, I don't know how anyone could have a problem with the guy," said Sam Cruz, 36. "If they stuck him up, he would've given them the money. I know Jimmy, he wouldn't give them a reason to kill him."
Cruz said Jimmy was nothing but kind, often going out of his way to help others.
"If you had money, you did laundry. If you didn't have money, you still did laundry," he said."You could leave your clothes and Jimmy would take care of them. He even used to fold them for me without me asking. He was an awesome person. Never bothered no one."
Decrescenzo's case makes the third homicide in Stamford this year.
