Father charged with killing 7 week-old baby

Mario Perez

from the Miami Herald:

Mario Perez, 36, was charged with second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse for the killing of John Brian Perez.

The baby was hospitalized Jan. 10 after Perez, who is unemployed, called 911 to report his son was not breathing. Perez told police he had been alone with his son and tossed the baby on the bed at their home, 11040 Peach Tree Dr., just east of Biscayne Park.

Hospital staff members, alarmed at the baby's bruising and bleeding in the brain, called police. The baby stayed on life support at Jackson Memorial Hospital until Saturday, when he died. An autopsy revealed broken ribs and severe brain trauma, according to a Miami-Dade police arrest report.

Miami-Dade Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Emma Lew recorded the cause of death as ``blunt force trauma.''

Read the full story here.

Two Miami-Dade police officers shot and killed serving a warrant in Miami

Shooting scene at NW 7th Ave. and 69th Street

Two Miami-Dade officers have been shot while serving a warrant on a murder suspect at NW 7th Avenue and 69th Street in Miami Thursday morning.

One officer died on the scene. The other officer - a female - was shot and critically injured. She was transported to JMH and died in surgery according to the Miami Herald.

The officers are attached to MDPD's warrants unit. A least one suspect was also shot and is dead on the scene.

Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Alvarez at scene

A visibly shaken Nancy Perez, a lieutenant in charge of the Miami-Dade police media relations unit, speaking before live TV cameraa confirmed that one of the dead was a Miami-Dade police officer.

Television pictures showed two bodies covered by tarpaulins outside a house.

Police officer (facing camera) embraces a woman at JMH

Shortly after noon officers could be seen scaling the roof of the house and attaching tarps to the roof and a fence to shield the body of the dead officer from the view of TV helicopters.

Miami police chief Miguel Exposito, Miami-Dade police director James Loftus, Miami mayor Tomas Regaldo and Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Alvarez have responded to the scene. Deputy US marshal Barry Golden is also on the scene.

from the Miami Herald:

The dead male officer was identified as Roger Castillo. The female officer was identified as Amanda Haworth.

Johnny Sims

One suspect, identified as Johnny Sims, 23, was killed in the gun battle. Another suspect is in custody, said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

Investigators say they're not looking for any other suspects.

``We're asking for the community's prayers,'' said Commander Nancy Perez, who broke down when she announced the news shortly before 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

The county detectives were attempting to arrest Sims on a murder warrant for a slaying that happened in October in Miami, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Sims, according to state corrections records, was released from prison in September on probation. He had been imprisoned for armed robbery and selling cocaine.

Details were sketchy, but this much was known: The shooting erupted between a suspect and police at a home near Northwest Seventh Avenue and 69th Street.

Castillo died at the scene. The female officer died in surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

At least 35 South Florida law enforcement officials have been killed in the line of duty over the last 30 years according to this list compiled by the Herald.

One of the bloodiest days in Miami-Dade police department history occurred on April 2, 1976 when a man managed to shoot three detectives to death at a motel om Miami Beach. Neither of the three had a chance to pull their guns.

Retired detective still haunted by girl's murder more than half a century later

from Adam Beasley, Miami Herald staff writer

It has been 57 years since Judith Ann Roberts disappeared from her grandparents' home in The Roads, and surfaced dead in Coconut Grove a day later.

Irving Whitman was assigned the case, one that remains cold all these years later.

``It still gets to me, still haunts me,'' said Whitman, nearly 90. ``To this day, the case remains open, technically, but I am quite convinced I know who committed the crime.''

The person in question died before Whitman could close the case. Meanwhile, Roberts' slaying became international news -- and the lone blemish on Whitman's otherwise-sterling six-year stint in the Miami Police Homicide Unit.

Click here to read full story.

At least two dead in SW Miami-Dade domestic dispute

from WSVN:

Police are investigating a gruesome scene, which have left a mother and son dead.

Miami-Dade Police are investigating a deadly scene. According to police, they received a call around 7 p.m. Wednesday, about a domestic disturbance. Police said a man and a woman got into a domestic dispute. The man then stabbed the woman, her son and her daughter. The subject then stabbed himself and had to be transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. He is in critical condition. The young girl was transported to Miami Children's Hospital. She is suffering from some minor stab wounds, but is said to be in stable condition.

Click here for story.

MORE: The Miami Herald reports the incident occurred at 13300 SW 58th Terr.

A mother and son were killed and two other people hospitalized Wednesday night after a violent attack in a West Miami-Dade home, according to Miami-Dade police.

The attack happened shortly after 7 p.m. at 13300 SW 58th Ter. Officers responded to the area after getting 911 calls reporting an assault, police spokesman Detective Roy Rutland said.

When officers arrived, they found a woman and her adult son dead, Rutland said. The woman's teenage daughter and another adult male also were hurt, he said. All appeared to have knife wounds.

Rutland said it appeared the man attacked the woman and her children. Somehow, the daughter managed to escape. His relationship to the woman was unclear Wednesday night.

Click here to read more.

From Miami New Times:

When police arrived shortly after 7 p.m. at a home on 133rd Place and Southwest 58th Terrace, they found a gruesome scene. The son was in the street stabbed to death and the mother dead in the doorway.

Both had foot-long gashes in their chests, police said. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

The attacker survived his suicide attempt and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

The woman's teenage daughter was also attacked and is in stable condition at Miami children's hospital.

Police, who were called about a domestic disturbance between a man and a woman, are investigating the relationship between the attacker and his victims.

"All we saw was the two dead bodies and the gashes on their chest with incisions more than a foot," witness Eric Kahlan told Channel 7 News. "It looked like it was done with a knife or something."

Click here to read more.

Miami police chief and state attorney's office at odds over data on police shootings

from David Ovalle, Miami Herald staff writer

With the public and politicians clamoring for details on six fatal police shootings in Miami over the past year, the city's top cop and prosecutor are haggling -- over paperwork.

At issue: police reports, documents and other evidence that prosecutors say they need to determine if officers were justified in using deadly force.

Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito says his detectives have turned over all their reports to prosecutors. State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle says otherwise.

Judging from their e-mails back and forth, there's no way to tell who is responsible for the delays, or how much documentation really has been turned over.

The tit-for-tat escalated Tuesday when Exposito, in a politically charged e-mail, accused the state attorney of giving Miami Commissioner Richard Dunn a misleading list of missing police documents. Dunn quickly used the list to publicly attack Exposito.

The list was ``hastily prepared, was inaccurate, and no doubt caused [Dunn] great embarrassment in his attempt to publicly discredit me,'' Exposito wrote Fernández Rundle in an e-mail also sent to some city officials.

Click here to read the full story.

Suspect in crowbar beating death jumps bond

Ragheb and Nabil Sulaiman

from NBC Miami:

A man accused of assisting in the brutal beating of a customer at a Miami convenience store has fled the country, local authorities said Wednesday.

Nabil Sulaiman, 19, was charged with aggravated battery and his older brother, 24-year-old Ragheb, was charged with murder after the two allegedly attacked Akil Larue Oliver in their Quick Stop convenience store.

Nabil Sulaiman was allowed to post a $10,000 bond after the November 18 attack and used his passport to leave the country, which is in direct violation of his bail. A family attorney said the teen is likely in fear of his safety because of the racial tensions involved in the case.

The family is originally from Palestine, but it is unclear if that is where the boy has fled.

Channel 10's story is here and the surveillance video showing the events leading up to the fatal beating can be found here.