· Congratulations to Sexual Battery Unit (SBU) Chief Natalie Snyder and SBU ASA Priscilla Ruiz for securing a guilty verdict on one count of Sexual Battery in a very challenging rape case.
The Victim was an 18-year-old University of Miami student at the time of the rape. She met the Defendant, a 32-year-old lawyer, at The Sandbar in Coconut Grove on a very crowded college night. The Victim agreed to go to the Defendant’s car where he raped her. After the sexual battery, she immediately went back to the bar and reported the rape to a bartender, who testified at the trial. She also told her friends but was initially reluctant to go to the police. The Victim finally did report the rape to police after her mother convinced her, though she initially did not want to prosecute and even signed a non-prosecution form. The Victim later changed her mind.
After the rape, when the Victim and the Defendant engaged in a text exchange in which she confronted him about what occurred, he apologized and made other admissions. These text messages were very powerful and greatly strengthened the State’s case. There were also Venmo transactions between the Defendant and the Victim, which the defense used to try to convince the jury that the sex was consensual. According to the Victim, the Defendant paid her to remain quiet. In the end, the jury convicted.
The ASAs want to thank Trial Coordinator Valerie Ford for coordinating witness travel and making sure the trial ran smoothly.
· Congratulations to ASAs Dave Harden and Carlo Chialastri who overcame significant evidentiary challenges to secure a guilty verdict on two counts of Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon. The Defendant now faces two 25-year to life prison minimum mandatories at sentencing.
On March 1, 2014, Victim 1 was dropped off by his brother at the Homestead nursery where he worked before 6:00 pm. At that time, the Defendant, his cousin, Victim 2, and a Witness, arrived at the plant nursery while heavily intoxicated. Once they parked, the Defendant, Victim 2, and Witness proceeded to drink several beers with Victim 1. Soon after, Victim 2 started to antagonize Victim 1 and pulled out a 9mm pistol from his waistband.
Concerned for his safety, Victim 1 pleaded with Victim 2 to hand his pistol to the Defendant, who also was concealing a pistol in his waistband. The Defendant, who for the last 15-20 minutes after his arrival had been quietly sitting by himself, took the pistol from Victim 2, his cousin, and shot Victim 2 in the arm. Then the Defendant shot Victim 1 in the stomach before fleeing the scene in his car.
It took four years to find and arrest the Defendant. The firearm and his car were never located and no motive for the shooting was ever ascertained. By the time the case went to trial, most of the civilian witnesses (who were undocumented migrant workers) had been excluded from the case. Furthermore, no DNA, latents, etc., existed to place the Defendant on scene.
Consequently, the State proceeded to trial only with Victim 1, his cousin who dropped him off and saw the Defendant driving in, the lead Detective, and a firearms expert (who testified all the casings found on scene were from the same firearm). Physical evidence introduced by the State included casings, photos of the Victims in the hospital with injuries, and scene photos. Prior to trial, the ASAs amended the Information in the case to a “John Doe” Information so they could prosecute Victim 2’s shooting without having to prove Victim 2’s identity.
A special thanks to Lead Worker Kelly Usher-Villazan; Victim Witness Specialists Janelle Arguelles, Alexa Perdomo, Joseph Dunne, Melany Badia-Taveras; and Secretary Abelardo Gonzalez.
· Congratulations to ASAs Andrea M. Piloto and Darrel Ambrosini for securing a guilty verdict on charges of Armed Robbery with a Firearm and Burglary with Assault while Armed with a Firearm on March 24, 2022. The Defendant is a Prison Releasee Reoffender (PRRP) and will be sentenced to a life minimum mandatory sentence.
On August 19, 2019, the Defendant, dressed in a black hoodie and gray pants, entered a Metro PCS store. While using a yellow towel to conceal his identity, the Defendant pointed his firearm at the three employees, walked behind the counter, and demanded money. The Defendant took the money out of the register and left. Only one of the three employees was able to identify the Defendant, and only with 90% certainty. No witnesses were able to provide an in-court identification.
Although the Metro PCS CCTV footage never showed the Defendant’s face, it showed his attire and the yellow towel. Through further investigation by Miami-Dade Police, the Defendant’s address was discovered, and a search warrant was prepared. A search of the Defendant’s truck revealed a yellow towel. Additionally, CCTV from the Defendant’s neighbor showed him fifteen minutes prior to when the robbery was committed wearing identical attire with a yellow towel sticking out of his left pocket.
A very special thanks to CCR Division Secretary Jerry Pierre and CCR Victim Witness Counselors Karina Tamayo and Shaun Williams for their extraordinary assistance in contacting the witnesses, securing their appearances, and accompanying them throughout the trial. And as always, we appreciate tour Litigation Support team for their skills in preparing the visual evidence for this case.
· Congratulations to Sexual Battery Unit ASAs Jessie Friedman and Meagan Sarraff for securing a guilty verdict on all counts in a Capital Sexual Battery case. The Victim is the Defendant’s stepdaughter. When the Victim was 9 years old, she disclosed to her Mom that the Defendant had lowered his pants and touched her inappropriately. During a controlled call with the Victim’s mother, the Defendant made incriminating statements and stated that the Victim was “curious”. The Defendant was arrested, and post-Miranda made more incriminating statements while simultaneously trying to downplay the allegations by stating that they occurred while play-wrestling with the Victim. Defendant was originally charged with three counts of Lewd & Lascivious Molestation on a Child under 12.
During the Victim’s deposition, she disclosed additional acts of sexual abuse and an Amended Information was filed adding one count of Sexual Battery on a Minor and one count of Attempted Sexual Battery on a Minor. The Victim, now 11 years old, is very emotional and had great difficulty discussing the allegations since she attempted to block out those memories. At trial, she testified via CCTV from the judge’s chambers. The Defendant took the stand and provided testimony, but ultimately, the Victim’s bravery and strength led to his conviction on all counts. He was sentenced to Life in prison with a Life minimum mandatory.
A special thanks to Victim Witness Coordinator Nancy Germeille, who was instrumental in communicating with the Victim’s mother and setting up therapy at Kristi House for our very fragile Victim, and Secretary Charlotte Haslem, who was key to ensuring that the case was properly prepared, and the trial went smoothly.
· Congratulations to ASAs Joshua Padron and Cortney Knox for securing a guilty verdict on Wednesday, March 30 on one count of Cocaine Sale, Purchase, Manufacture, Delivery within 1,000 feet of a Childcare Facility or School.
The Defendant was the subject of an ongoing investigation in 2019 called “Operation Shotcaller.” On March 14, 2019, an undercover officer made a controlled buy from the Defendant that was partially captured on a recording device the undercover officer was using. Later that day, the undercover officer did a drive-by show-up and positively identified the Defendant as the same subject who had sold him the cocaine earlier that day.
Because of the ongoing operation, the Defendant was not arrested until 3 months later, pursuant to an arrest warrant. The Defendant still has three open narcotics cases pending trial and faces several minimum mandatory sentences, aside from the three-year minimum mandatory that applies to this case.
The ASAs would like to thank Supervisor Trinere Purifoy, Trial Coordinator Mevurah Del Castillo, Lead Worker Cary Jose, Victim/Witness Counselor Julio Cesar Suarez, and everyone in Litigation Support, who helped organize and blow-up different exhibits for trial.
· Congratulations to Division Chief Marie Mato and ASA Benjamin Gellis who were successful in securing a guilty verdict in a Second-Degree Murder with a Firearm and Attempted Second-Degree Murder with a Firearm case.
On January 28, 2018. The Victim and his friend (the surviving Victim) were at a get-together in Little Haiti hosted by the Defendant’s friends. They were in the driveway right outside their house. The Defendant, his girlfriend, and children lived in a second house in that same lot with no fence between the houses. The entire lot is surrounded by a fence with one large gate in front of each house, and a third small gate in between the two larger ones.
According to the surviving Victim, the deceased Victim was mellow, having a good time, listening to music, drinking, and smoking weed. Surviving Victim said that the Defendant was upset that the Victim was chatting and dancing with the Defendant’s girlfriend, whom he had known for years. Though the Defendant wanted his girlfriend to go inside the house, she refused. The Defendant was seen pacing back and forth. The surviving Victim was outside the gate talking on his cell phone when he saw the Victim walk over to Defendant. He then heard a gunshot, turned, and saw the Defendant who was standing outside the gate discharging a firearm at the Victim. The surviving Victim ran over to help and the Defendant turned to him, asked if he was planning on saving the Victim, and then started shooting at him.
While the surviving Victim ran for his life, he saw the Defendant toss the firearm out of a car window. It was recovered. The Defendant was arrested three days later in Broward County. He had shaved his cornrows and beard.
Only the surviving Victim saw the actual shooting. No one heard any argument or any threats. The defense claimed it was self-defense though no weapons were found on the Victim. The Defendant did not testify. However, defense attorney called two defense witnesses who testified that Victim had a reputation for violence.
The Medical Examiner testified that the Victim had gunshot wounds to the chest, side of the head, the right hand, and a graze wound to the back. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death was homicide.
After the guilty verdict, the bifurcated count of Possession of Firearm by Convicted Felon was presented to the jury. The jury convicted on that count as well.
Special thanks to Trial Coordinator Janet Gonzalez and Victim/Witness Homicide Counselor Idalma Gurruchaga.
· Congratulations to ASAs Mari Jimenez and Jennifer Garcia for securing a Guilty verdict for Attempted Second Degree Murder and Armed Burglary with an Assault or Battery.
The Victim had a romantic relationship with the Defendant’s mother in the 1970’s, when the Defendant was in his teens. Before the couple separated, they had a daughter, the Defendant’s half-sister. Except for one 20-minute phone call to the Victim, the Defendant had no contact with the Victim, his daughter, or his family in Miami for decades.
The Defendant called the Victim out of the blue in November of 2017, asking to use his mailing address because he was planning to relocate from California. The Victim agreed. However, his daughter, the Defendant’s half-sister, feared that the Defendant, who was now a stranger to them, was trying to take advantage of her father. She called the Defendant and made it clear that he could not come live with her father. Nevertheless, mail for the Defendant began arriving at the Victim’s house, including a $5,000 check. The Victim’s daughter called him again and told him not to come to her dad’s house, that she would meet him when he got to Miami to give him his mail and check.
On December 5, 2017, the Defendant showed up unannounced at the Victim’s home. The Victim told him that his daughter had his mail and check. This made the Defendant very upset, and he left, but he returned shortly thereafter. As soon as the Victim opened the door, the Defendant attacked him with a butcher knife and inflicted wounds to his head, arm, and hand. The Victim tried to defend himself and a struggle ensued. The Victim succeeded in getting the Defendant out of the house, but when he tried to close the door, the Defendant broke the door and the window screens and forced his way back in. The Defendant continued to attack and demand his money until the Victim’s 91-year-old mother told him that she would give him money if he stopped attacking her son. Officers arrived at the scene and arrested the Defendant.
Due to the age of the case, many key witnesses were retired. However, the ASAs were able to piece together the case with the available witnesses and even managed to get the knife into evidence. The Defendant took the stand and claimed self-defense. ASA Mari Jimenez vigorously cross-examined the Defendant for over three hours and showed that his story was inconsistent and impossible. ASA Jennifer Garcia conducted direct examinations of all the police witnesses and presented all the body-worn camera and video evidence.
The ASAs would like to thank Victim/Witness Counselor Rayna Milford for her assistance in coordinating the witnesses, Sexual Assault Victim Specialist April McClellan, Domestic Violence Witness Specialist Rhonda Tice, and Investigators Danny Mosquera and Jim McColman.
· Congratulations to ASAs Joshua Novak and Alexa Antin for securing a guilty verdict on a case where the Defendant was convicted of one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm/Actual Possession and one count of Resisting an Officer Without Violence.
Two officers initiated a traffic stop of a truck that was towing a boat with no trailer tag. While approaching the truck, officers smelled the odor of burnt marijuana emitting from the vehicle. It was occupied by the driver and the Defendant, who sat in the front passenger seat. After asking the driver to step out of the car for a narcotics investigation, officers found over $4,000 cash on him. The driver alleged that he obtained the cash from selling boats earlier in the day. During the search of the driver, officers observed the Defendant sitting in the vehicle and clutching his hand and arm around his groin area.
The Defendant was ordered to exit the vehicle so they could continue the narcotics investigation. As the Defendant stepped out, he shoved an officer and fled on foot. During the foot chase, body-worn camera captured a firearm falling out of the Defendant’s pants. Officers lost sight of the Defendant after he jumped over a fence and ran through the yard of a residential home. A perimeter was set up and the Defendant was located hours later hiding inside of another home. The firearm was recovered on scene.
At trial, the Defendant took the stand and testified that the driver forced the gun on him as the truck was being pulled over and that his possession was not “knowing.” However, on cross-examination, the Defendant confessed to willfully and intentionally picking up the firearm and concealing it inside his pants to hide it from police in an attempt to avoid arrest. The State further impeached him on other areas of his direct testimony and got him to admit that the driver was paying him on the date of arrest for “business” they were conducting together.
A special thanks to Division Secretary Johnisha Darling and Victim/Witness Counselor John Zoeller for their assistance with this trial.
• Congratulations to Gun Violence Reduction Initiative (GVRI) ASA Khalil Quinan and ASA Natasha Moghadam obtained guilty verdicts on two violent gang members charged with Attempted First-Degree Murder and Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder.
As background, MDPD Northside District and SAO GVRI prosecutors responded to a contact shooting at the corner of NW 44th Street and 29th avenue on December 30, 2019. The Victim was struck a total of 15 times. The investigation revealed that a known member of “4400” street gang and a previously unknown member, shot the Victim, also a member of “4400,” because the Victim stopped selling drugs for their collective supplier.
The SAO GVRI team and MDPD investigated the case. They obtained the Defendant’s cell site records, which showed his phone converging at the incident location only one time over a 60-day period – the date and time of the shooting. They also obtained digital evidence that the Defendant threatened the Victim.
They also located a post by one of the defendants at the crime scene two weeks after the shooting where he blocked out his face with a Demon emoji (the gang calls themselves the “44 Demons”) and a caption that said, “I’ll never say what I did for these streets.”
During an eight-day trial, the jury heard from 11 witnesses and saw 42 exhibits of evidence. The Jury took an hour and 15 minutes, with no questions, to find the defendants guilty as charged. The jury also found the Attempted Murder was committed in furtherance of a criminal gang, as well as all the 10/20/Life interrogatories.
This case came together from an entire unit effort, including assistance from our Gangs Prosecution Unit.
Special thanks to Administrator Alina Cartagena, Supervisor Barbara Couillard, Paralegal Neith Gort, Legal Secretary Tanisha Arline, Paralegal Francis Pozo, Secretary Teisa Amoros, Secretary Evika Jones, Victim Specialists Uvonne Roundtree and Mar Rodriguez all provided invaluable assistance by preparing countless subpoenas, spending hours reviewing evidence, preparing and coordinating witnesses, and making sure the prosecutors had everything they needed for trial. Special recognition is deserved for Jim, too, for twice going to Jacksonville for this case.
Northside Gangs and Crime Suppression Team Detectives were instrumental in providing security for the Victim while in town while the MDPD Incident Containment Team was vital in providing security in court after repeated incidents by associated individuals. In all, this whole team approach, particularly the GVRI’s participation at the inception and at every critical moment of the investigation, allowed for the collection of critical evidence that ensured our successful prosecution.
· Congratulations to Division Chiefs Jonathan Borst and Gaby Alfaro for securing a guilty verdict on charges of First-degree Murder, Armed Robbery, and Burglary with a Battery. The Defendant is now facing an automatic life sentence.
On July 19, 2018, the Defendant and his Co-Defendant attempted to rob a man at his luxury apartment condo in Edgewater. The Victim was a well-known jeweler who kept large sums of cash and jewelry inside his apartment. There was a violent struggle inside the apartment when the Defendants forced their way in and the Victim resisted. During the struggle, the Victim was shot once in the head. At autopsy, the Medical Examiner also found bruising and injuries to the Victim’s arms, chest, and head.
Video surveillance showed the Defendant fleeing the apartment with the Louis Vuitton messenger bag that the victim used to carry his cash and jewelry. The Defendant was identified by an anonymous tipster after a media release. The Defendant was wearing a shirt with the caption “Make money the fast way,” with an image of the Monopoly-man dressed as a robber stealing a bag of money. After the Defendant was apprehended, he blamed his Co-Defendant for everything and claimed he was merely at the apartment to buy weed.
The Defendant testified that he was merely present at the scene and did not have any knowledge of the Co-Defendant’s plan to rob the Victim. The Defendant was caught in several lies during cross-examination. He also claimed that the firearm in his pocket was instead a Bible that he was taking to the strip club.
Phone records, cell phone extractions, social media, and other evidence were introduced to connect the members of the conspiracy and rebut the Defendant’s claim that he had no criminal intent.
The jury deliberated for roughly five hours before finding the Defendant guilty as charged.
The DCs would like to give special thanks to Unit Supervisor Elizabeth Frade and Homicide Counselor Andrea Marquez for their hard work and dedication coordinating with the witnesses and next of kin. Thanks also to Trial Coordinators Mary Clifford and Candance Moses for their work on the case.
· Congratulations to ASAs Joseph Rome and Ramy Simpson for obtaining a guilty verdict for the charges of Aggravated Battery with Great Bodily Harm and Use of a Weapon after the jury deliberated for about 20 minutes.
The Victim lived next door to the Defendant’s mother-in-law, who also had custody of the Defendant’s four-year-old daughter. On June 24, 2018, the Defendant overheard the Victim bantering in public with his daughter in front of their houses, as they often did. The Defendant somehow concluded that the only explanation for the way the Victim was speaking to his daughter was that the Victim was sexually assaulting her. The Defendant later asked the Victim for cigarettes. While handing the cigarettes to the Defendant over the fence separating the two properties, and without warning, the Defendant stabbed the Victim in the neck with a kitchen knife. The Victim screamed and ran for help, leaving a trail of blood, then woke up five days later at Jackson Trauma Center. His injury required multiple surgeries and resulted in a large, permanent scar.
There was no CCTV footage, and there were no independent witnesses to the stabbing. The Defendant’s mother-in-law—who could have backed up the Victim’s story about his good relationship with the family—passed away before trial. The case relied upon testimony, photographs, a 911 call, a knife with an apparent trace of blood on the tip found in kitchen of where the Defendant was staying, and the Defendant’s bizarre, rambling recorded statement to a detective two days after the incident. The judge also granted a State Motion in Limine allowing an officer to testify as to the deceased neighbor’s hearsay statement about family history.
The ASAs would like to thank Victim/Witness Counselors Melany Badia-Taveras and Kathleen Fuentes and Division Secretary Annette Rizo for their support and coverage.
· Congratulations to ASAs Lindsay Davis and Marie Koth for securing a guilty verdict in a challenging Sexual Battery case.
The Victim came to Miami with her sister and a friend for a birthday celebration. They were drinking and went out to a South Beach nightclub. Denied entry because she was intoxicated, the Victim attempted to request an Uber ride back to her hotel but was unsuccessful. The Defendant (who was working as a freelance driver) saw the Victim outside of the nightclub and offered to give her a ride. But before dropping the Victim off at her hotel, the Defendant drove her to an unknown location and raped her. The next morning, the Victim realized she was bleeding and had a vague recollection of “something” happening to her. She reported it to police and was examined at the Rape Treatment Center. A Detective was able to obtain video footage of the Victim being dropped off and tracked the car through city cameras and LPR’s to successfully link the car in question to the Defendant. During his interview with police, the Defendant ultimately confessed to having sex with the Victim but alleged it was consensual.
Because the Victim did not have much of a recollection of the incident, the ASAs had to piece everything together for the jurors in a largely circumstantial case. This was done through multiple witnesses during trial, including the civilians, the lead detective, a toxicologist, a nurse from the Rape Treatment Center and a DNA Analyst. The Defendant also testified during trial and was successfully impeached with his prior statement to police. In the end, the ASAs were able to show the jury what really happened that night. As a result, the jury did not believe the Defendant’s claim of consent.
A special thanks to Victim/Witness Counselor Stephanie Grande-Brito and Travel Coordinator Idalvis Trujillo.
