SMITHSBURG, Md. — In November, a manhunt for a fired Baltimore County police officer ended in tragedy, when he and his two young daughters who he reportedly kidnapped were shot and killed in a car in western Maryland.
Now the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office said there are "major concerns" with how York, Pa., law enforcement handled the incident, which began with Robert Vicosa's then-wife filing a court order against him. He ultimately broke into the York-area home, sexually assaulted her, and kidnapped their two girlsAaminah and Giana.
The office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro just concluded its investigation into the York Area Regional Police Department's response to the court order.
"Our office has provided a detailed letter to the District Attorney to review and outlined our major concerns with certain lapses and decisions leading up to this tragic situation," said Shaprio's office in a statement.
The Attorney General could not provide any more details about its concerns, citing Pennsylvania's Criminal History Record Information Act.
The office said that a private criminal complaint that was filed by Vicosa's wife - the mother of the girls - has been withdrawn.
During the days-long, multi-jurisdictional manhunt, Vicosa and his accomplice, former Baltimore County police seargeant Tia Bynum, heldup a man at gunpoint in Cockeysville and forced him to drive around the Baltimore areabefore letting him go. Vicosa switched vehicles several times, at one point carjacking a woman in Red Lion, Pa. Both Bynum and Vicosa were found dead inside a stolen Ford Edge in Washington County; the girls were found shot in the backseat.
