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Ti homicide suspect last seen in Hogansburg

Michael E. LaRock is pictured in surveillance footage Friday at the Speedway gas station on Route 37 in Hogansburg.

TICONDEROGA — A man considered armed and dangerous is wanted for questioning in the shooting death of William T. Brown, whose body was found Friday in the LaChute River.

Sunday morning, Ticonderoga Police said Michael E. LaRock, 38, of Ticonderoga, had not yet been apprehended.

He is believed to have fled the area after the killing of Brown, 37, of Ticonderoga and was last seen at 3:33 p.m. Friday at the Speedway gas station on Route 37 in Hogansburg, near the Canadian border.

He was wearing dark blue jeans, a red shirt, with a black zip-up jacket and gray sneakers with white soles.

Two arrests

Brown died of a gunshot to the head, according to a determination by forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Sikirica, who performed the autopsy.

The manner of death, State Police said, was homicide.

Two other Ticonderoga men have been charged in connection with putting Brown’s body in the river, but have not been accused of killing him.

Joshua W. Smith, 35, and 63-year-old Donald C. LaRock, both of Ticonderoga, have been charged with one count each of first-degree hindering prosecution, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse.

They were arraigned in Ticonderoga Town Court and sent to Essex County Jail for lack of $25,000 cash bail, or $50,000 bond.

Police have said the men all know each other. They did not say whether the two LaRocks are related.

A motive for the homicide has not been released.

Tracks to river

Ticonderoga Police responded at about 7 a.m. Friday to a call about a suspicious vehicle in the Bicentennial Park area.

They located the 2014 Volkswagon Jetta and also a set of footprints that led from the car to the LaChute River, State Police said.

They followed the tracks down to the water and discovered Brown face down in the water, “obviously deceased.”

Convicted felon

State Police and Ticonderoga Police said in a news release that LaRock was considered a “person of interest” in the case.

They said LaRock is a convicted felon with previous arrests for possession of weapons, narcotics, stolen property, burglary, assault, and driving while intoxicated, and should be considered armed and dangerous.

Among his prior convictions was one for a burglary spree after which he also fled to the Canadian border in 2002.

He was eventually caught in Georgia, according to prior media reports.

Anyone with information as to LaRock’s whereabouts was asked to call Ticonderoga Police at 518-585-3204.

Press Republican Editor Suzanne Moore contributed to this report.

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