Rosario receives identical 25- to- 50-year prison sentence for attempted homicide

Feb 27, 2025 By Mike Jones 4 min read

A Washington man convicted of attempted homicide in a botched execution-style shooting in 2017 was sentenced for a third time Wednesday after a state appellate court vacated his previous two prison terms.

But the sentence for Keith Rosario looked much the same as the last one as Washington County Court of Common Pleas Judge Valarie Costanzo ordered him to serve 25 to 50 years in prison – the same exact term as before – due to the amount of aggravating factors in the case.

Costanzo said Rosario showed “newfound remorse” for shooting a man in the back of the head in South Franklin Township, and his robust efforts to rehabilitate himself in prison over the past few years has been “commendable.” But she couldn’t overlook aggravating factors such as how Rosario was on parole at the time for a gun offense, brought a juvenile with him during the crime and that it was only a miracle that victim Marcus Stancik survived, all while still having a bullet lodged in the base of the skull.

“The court cannot overlook the aggravating circumstances in this case,” Costanzo said.

It was an identical prison term Costanzo handed down to Rosario when she sentenced him for a second time in 2022. But the state Superior Court vacated that sentence in June 2023 because the appellate court’s three-judge panel said she should have also considered other factors. His initial sentence of 35½ to 90 years in prison following his 2019 conviction was vacated earlier because of changes to the state’s sentencing guidelines.

During a nearly 90-minute sentencing hearing Wednesday and after reading the pre-sentence investigation, Costanzo weighed those factors and decided that the statutory maximum was appropriate for Rosario’s conviction on felony charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and kidnapping.

Shackled and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Rosario pleaded his case before Costanzo, telling the judge about the number of programs and other rehabilitative courses he’s taken while at SCI-Albion state prison in Erie County following his conviction.

“I’ve made constant efforts to understand my past and (am) making an effort for a better future,” Rosario said.

Rosario, who is now 34, said he was “actively seeking redemption” and trying to better himself by taking various classes, learning to speak Italian, writing a children’s book and serving as a peer facilitator for other inmates in the “Felons To Fathers” program.

“I want to thank you, your honor, for saving my life. I don’t think my life would’ve evolved,” Rosario said before the sentencing.

Rosario and a co-defendant kidnapped Stancik in Washington on Sept. 7, 2017, and drove him to Cove Road in South Franklin, where Rosario forced the victim to his knees on the shore of the reservoir. Rosario then shot him in the base of his skull, but when he attempted to fire the handgun again, it jammed and Stancik was able to jump into the water and swim away while shouting for help to a nearby resident, who called 911. Stancik survived and testified against Rosario at trial.

Senior Deputy District Attorney John Friedmann lauded Rosario’s efforts to rehabilitate himself in prison and pointed to that as a reason he should remain incarcerated. He also called back to the violence Rosario inflicted on Stancik and the need to keep the community safe.

“Although this is the third time we’ve been here, the facts of the case have not changed,” Friedmann said while listing how Stancik was assaulted, kidnapped, blindfolded and shot in the head before swimming naked in the reservoir calling for help. “It was only by the grace of God that Mr. Stancik did not die.”

Defense attorney John Egers Jr. had successfully argued to the appellate court that Rosario should receive a new sentence, but he was unable to persuade Costanzo on a lighter punishment.

“I think you can see there is change. There is positive change. There is positive growth,” Egers said. “He’s certainly used his time wisely.”

Rosario, who has served nearly eight years since his arrest following the shooting, will be returned to SCI-Albion to finish the remainder of his prison term.