Haitian music promoter wanted for murder kills himself in North Miami

Via the Miami Herald:

A popular figure in the Haitian music industry wanted for the double-homicide of his ex-girlfriend and her well-known reggae dancehall artist boyfriend in New York died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a North Miami-Dade apartment after U.S. Marshal police officers surrounded the building.

The U.S. Marshals’ fugitive taskforce followed Joseph Kernizan’s trail from New York to North Miami. Police feared he would flee to his native Haiti.

Interviews with several of Kernizan’s acquaintances led investigators to a North Miami apartment building on Northwest 157th Street and Second Avenue, said Barry Golden, a spokesman with the U.S. Marshals office.

Golden said federal agents arrived at the North Miami quadruplex at 10:14 p.m. Tuesday.

"We surrounded that location from all sides. We pulled in one of our vehicles, we had lights and a PA and we asked for residents of the apartments to step outside," he said.

At one point, investigators saw Kernizan stick his head out of a ground-floor apartment window, Golden said. He then attempted to run out a back door, but when he saw police officers he shut the door and locked it, Golden said.

Minutes later, someone who had been inside the apartment with Kernizan came out and police heard shots. Police entered the one-bedroom apartment through a back window.

"When we went in, he was dead," Golden said. Kernizan shot himself, he said. Police say they found three handguns and two loaded AK-47 guns at the scene.

Read more by clicking here.

Rapper 'Bizzle' shot and killed at Liberty City car wash

Video: WSVN-TV

-via WSVN:

Police are investigating the murder of a South Florida man who was shot and killed near his children.

On Tuesday morning, a mourner dropped off flowers at the site where Robert Labranche was murdered.

Monday evening, a gunman opened fire at the car wash near 770 Northwest 54th Street. According to police, the victim stopped at the car wash and someone shot him as his daughter and son sat inside the car near by.

Family members identified the victim as Labranche, a.k.a Bizzle or Chowtime, a well-liked Miami rapper.

Dozens of family members and friends crowded the area to pay their respects. "He don't bother nobody; he's always doing his job. He's a hardworking man," said a friend.

The victim's sister devastated by the shooting, cried out as a loved one tried to console her. "Oh my brother, they killed my brother for nothing," she wailed.

Inconsolable relatives rushed police officers and passed crime scene tape forcing officers to restrain them. "They obviously wanted to grab that family member here, they wanted to grab him one last time, possibly," said Miami Police Detective Willie Moreno.

Police said Labranche's kids were not harmed. "Fortunately, they didn't see the actual incident and they are currently right now unharmed with family members," said Moreno.

According to friends, Labranche owned part of the car wash. "He got killed over here apparently, because he was trying to save his business," said a friend.

Police are looking for a man wearing all black that fled the scene in an unknown direction.

Friends said they don't know why anyone would want to kill Labranche but they hope police track the gunman down. "Just take a look around you man, this is the love," said a friend, with arms stretched to the large crowd of people who flooded the street. "This is the love right here. That's a good guy man."

If you have any information on this murder, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.

Carlos Alberto Fernandez killed in jet ski crash

WSVN video

From the Miami Herald:

Investigators with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are examining evidence from a deadly boating accident in Biscayne Bay.

But so far, investigators believe the 27-year-old man who died after his personal watercraft collided with a boat was travelling fast in a slow-speed area and wasn’t supposed to be on a personal watercraft at all at night, said Jorge Pino, spokesman with the wildlife agency.

Carlos Alberto Fernandez was riding a Yamaha personal watercraft on the bay when the accident occurred that killed him. A friend of his, Jose Luis Moreno, was on another watercraft.

Pino said Fernandez’s watercraft was not rented, but appeared to be borrowed. Investigators were looking into how fast he was travelling and why the two men were on the water at night. Only Fernandez struck the other boat, a 22-foot vessel with a family on board, headed to port.

“It’s hard enough to spot a vessel with navigational lights and proper safety equipment,” Pino said. “Now you have a personal watercraft at night at a high rate of speed. It’s just a recipe for disaster.”

Florida has a longstanding rule that personal watercraft can only operate during daylight, starting half an hour before sunrise and half an hour after sunset.

Read the complete story by clicking here.

Carlos Alberto Fernandez miami, Jose Luis Moreno, killed jet ski

Victim of Miami cannibal speaks of attack

WSVN-TV VIDEO

-via WSVN:

MIAMI (AP) -- A homeless man whose face was mostly chewed off in a bizarre assault alongside a busy South Florida highway told police that his attacker "just ripped me to ribbons."

In a recorded interview with investigators, Ronald Poppo said the man who approached him initially seemed friendly. Then the man, Rudy Eugene, seemed to become angry about something that had happened on Miami Beach, where thousands were partying through the Memorial Day weekend.

"For a while he was acting nice. Then he got flustered. He probably remembered something that happened on the beach and was not happy about it," Poppo told investigators in the interview that was taped July 19 and first reported Wednesday by Miami news station WFOR-TV.

Poppo said Eugene then "turned berserk" and attacked with his bare hands, screaming that both men would die.

"He just ripped me to ribbons. He chewed up my face. He plucked out my eyes. Basically, that's all there is to say about it," Poppo said.

Poppo, 65, remains in a long-term care facility after losing an eye, his eyebrows, his nose and parts of his forehead and right cheek in the May 26 attack. His other eye was severely damaged.

Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center said last month that Poppo was in good spirits, talking and walking around, but would need several more surgeries before he could explore the options for reconstructing his face.

Eugene, 31, was shot and killed by a Miami police officer during the attack on the Macarthur Causeway just off downtown Miami. Lab tests found only marijuana in Eugene's system, but no other drugs or alcohol.

Poppo said Eugene had said something about not being able "to score," adding that Eugene "must have been souped up on something."

In the police interview, Poppo sometimes seems confused about some details of the attack. He described Eugene wearing a green shirt and getting out of a car, but surveillance video recorded from security cameras on The Miami Herald building showed a naked Eugene walking up to Poppo as cars and bicyclists zipped by. Poppo was reclining on the sidewalk near the parking garage where he lived.

Police asked Poppo whether he provoked Eugene.

"What could provoke an attack of that type?" Poppo said. "I didn't curse at the guy or say anything mean or nasty."

Poppo also thanked the police for saving his life, saying the officer who shot Eugene

Stock analyst Robert Sinn charged with DUI in Miami hit and run

WSVN-TV -
-via WSVN:

Robert Sinn

MIAMI (WSVN) -- A pedestrian struck by a hit and run driver remains in critical condition, Thursday. The driver charged with the crime has been identified and remains behind bars.

According to police, Robert Sinn's vehicle hopped the curb and crashed into a bus stop along Northeast 64th Street and Biscayne Boulevard, at around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.

A man who was on his way home from the grocery store was standing on the sidewalk and eating an apple when Sinn struck him. The victim was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he is fighting for his life. He has not been identified pending the notification of his next-of-kin. Authorities have only said the victim is in his mid-40s.

Police said Sinn, 33, knocked down a palm tree and a light pole as he knocked the pedestrian 30 feet away from where he was originally standing. Miami Fire Rescue Lieutenant Ignatius Carroll said, "When fire rescue arrived, he was basically wrapped right next to that bus bench pole that you see over there, about a good 30 feet away from where his shoe is."

The victim had just come from the grocery store when he was suddenly hit. "He was bleeding from the face," said a man who found the victim after the crash. "I think he was in a coma or something."

Police said Sinn got out of the car to look at the victim, then got back into his vehicle and fled the scene. Police said he offered no help to the victim.

However, Sinn did not get very far. "Luckily, one of our motormen in the nearby area was able to capture him just blocks down from the initial accident [scene]," said Miami Police Officer Kenia Reyes.

Police administered a field sobriety test to Sinn at the scene. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested. According to Miami Police, after Sinn was placed in the back of the cruiser, he said, "I fell asleep at the wheel."

Sinn has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident with bodily injury and DUI. He's being held on $105,000 bond.

-via CBS4:

MIAMI (CBS4) – A Miami-Dade Judge delivered harsh words Thursday to a Delray Beach man who is accused of drunk driving when he struck and nearly killed a pedestrian in Miami.

An arrest report says 33-year-old Robert Sinn told Police that he “fell asleep” at the wheel before his white Chevrolet impala jumped a curb, knocked down a pole and then struck the victim on Biscayne Boulevard at Northeast 64th St. as the victim was standing on the sidewalk with a bag of groceries.

Witnesses say the victim was thrown some 30 feet and was found wrapped around a bus stop pole at the scene.

The report also says Sinn got out of his car and went over to the badly-injured victim as he lay on the ground and yelled at him. Then he went back to his car and left, the report says. They say an “alert motorman” stopped Sinn just a few blocks away from the accident scene on Northeast 64th St. at Northeast 7th Ave.

After Judge Ariana Fajardo announced some of the charges against Sinn in bond court, she took a few minutes to read the arrest report. And then she said, “Some of the allegations are very disturbing. The allegations from the A Form are that he struck the pedestrian. He got out of his car. He went over to the pedestrian and yelled at the pedestrian and left.”

At the crash scene, veteran Miami Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Ignatius Carroll was also concerned.

“You would think the reaction would be that you did something wrong,” he told CBS4’s Peter D’Oench. “And because of that, you would check on someone’s well being and then call 911. He didn’t do that.”

According to the arrest report, Sinn told police he “fell asleep at the wheel” and then asked an officer, “Is the guy I hit going to be ok.”

There are nine charges against Sinn including DUI with serious bodily injury to another person, leaving the scene of a crash with an injury, driving with a suspended license and DUI with damage to property or a person.

Paul Royal murdered just days before leaving for college

via CBS4:

MIAMI GARDENS (CBS4) – The parents of an 18-year-old football player who was gunned down just days before he was planning to leave for college are speaking out and asking for the public’s help in solving a senseless murder.

“Yes, I need some answers. That’s it. I need some,” said a grieving Tiffany Davis in an exclusive interview with CBS4’s Peter D’Oench.

Her son, Paul Royal, was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon while sitting in a car outside a home on N.W. 28th Court at N.W. 201st St. in Miami Gardens, according to Miami Gardens Police.

“He meant so much to me,” said Tiffany Davis. “He meant the world to me. He was my first born.”

“It’s like he was snatched away from us,” said Royal’s father, Damion Davis. “He didn’t deserve this. Words can not express our loss. I mean we are still asking ourselves why.”

Royal, who was known as “P.J.,” had played outside and middle linebacker for Carol City High School.

He was packing to leave on Saturday for Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, where he had a full scholarship.

Read the full story here.

Four killed in accident outside Marlins Stadium

From CBS4: Four people are dead after a mini-van plowed through pedestrians walking on a sidewalk just after the Marlins game had ended in Little Havana Saturday night.

Police said a man in his 60’s might have suffered a medical condition and when he veered off of the road in the 1700 block of NW 7^th Street and ran over three children and a grandmother.

Investigators said the driver of the red mini van died and so did the grandmother, a 14 year old boy and thirteen year old girl. A ten year old girl survived with multiple injuries. The family was visiting from Georgia and had just left the Marlins game when they were hit.