Four Miami-Dade police officers fired six bullets at a spectator and a carjacked UPS vehicle driver in a busy Broward crossing, according to the investigative summary report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The report, obtained by the Miami Herald Thursday, outlines the events leading up to the Dec. 5, 2019, firing, which began with a jewelry attack in Coral Gables and led to the stolen UPS truck and a high-speed fight that ran up Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 75.
The document ties the guns to Miami-Dade police officials Jose Mateo, 32, Rodolfo Mirabal, 39, Richard Santiesteban, 33, and Leslie Lee, 57. The soldiers, who were indicted in Broward on murder claims in June, have pleaded not guilty.
Frank Ordóñez, the UPS driver and a 27-year-old father of two, and Rick Cutshaw, a 70-year-old coalition employee, were fatally struck by the hail of bullets fired in a packed crossing during the 5 p. m. jump hours at Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road in southern Broward County.
More than a hundred police officers from four different organizations were involved in the roaring gunfight, which was captured on camera by news helicopter and involved nearly 90 shots.
Five shots were uncovered during Ordóñez’s examination. Two were linked up to Santiesteban, and the remainder to Lee, Mateo and Mirabal, according to the FDLE record.
A second gun was recovered during Cutshaw’s examination. That one was tied to Mirabal, the document says.
The document also comes to the conclusion that Lee, Mirabal, and Santiesteban fired 44 sessions, respectively, and Mateo, Mateo, Lee, and Mateo, respectively. A full of 20 Miami-Dade soldiers, three Miramar soldiers, one Pembroke Pines agent and one Florida Highway Patrol officer were involved in battle.
The incident that set off the killing started earlier that day when two people robbed Regent Jewelers in Coral Gables and snatched up the Ordóez-driven UPS vehicle. The high-speed federal fight followed up Florida’s Turnpike, Okeechobee Road, Interstate 75, and Pembroke Pines streets, before coming to an end with a gunfight that resulted in the deaths of Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Jerome Hill, both of whom had been robbed.
More information emerge
Documenting the guns and their paths, FDLE researchers found nine from Santiesteban’s weapon and one from Lee’s weapons inside the UPS vehicle, according to the report.
Some fired by Mirabal even struck two cars, hitting a screen and a car seat, the report says. Four more weapons from Mateo’s weapons made it to another vehicle’s back bumper.
The soldiers ‘ actions on that fateful day were also bolstered by body camera images.
Mirabal, prosecutors say, stopped his ship behind the rider part of the UPS vehicle, opened the vehicle’s door and shot toward the vehicle. He halted his assault and put his vehicle in a garden before continuing to take.
Mateo, the report says, exited his car and walked toward the customer side of the UPS vehicle, shooting. Santiesteban reported on officers television that shots were fired at the soldiers from the truck’s driver’s side. The film, the document says, captured Santiesteban hopping out of his car and consistently firing.
He also admitted to firing his crossbow on camera to a commander.
In December 2019, Lee identified himself to FDLE investigators as a witness, according to the document. He claimed in a voluntarily sworn declaration that he had witnessed several police officers shooting and that no one from the UPS truck was ever fired.
Lee added that Lee had never fired his weapon that morning.
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