4 officers arrested in deadly 2019 police shooting – NBC 6 South Florida

Four Miami-Dade officers involved in a 2019 police shooting with robbery suspects in Miramar that left an innocent UPS driver and a bystander dead have been arrested, NBC6 has determined through court documents and reports. reservation information.

Richard Santiesteban, Rodolfo Mirabal, Jose Mateo and Leslie Lee were all charged in connection with an incident dated Dec. 5, 2019, the same date as the shooting, according to the Broward County Clerk of Courts website. Their cases are complementary cases, that is, they arise from the same incident.

Santiesteban, Mirabal and Mateo were arrested Friday, while Lee was arrested Saturday, according to court documents.

Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Steadman Stahl told NBC6 on Saturday that the four officers surrendered and have since been released. He also mentioned that he was disappointed with the indictment and noted that the PBA would provide lawyers and support the officers through the legal process.

Court documents for Santiesteban, Mirabal, Mateo and Lee cite the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the organization that files criminal charges against the officers, as the charging agency in their cases.

The documents also refer to a grand jury indictment, consistent with the Broward State Attorney's Office's statement that the officers' cases would be subject to grand jury proceedings.

The charges against the men also match reports from a source that three officers face one count of manslaughter and the fourth faces two counts of manslaughter.

Santiesteban, Mateo and Lee each face a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Mirabal faces two.

The Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association (PBA) confirmed earlier this week that four of the county officers had been charged in the 2019 chase and shooting. The incident began in Coral Gables, when police said that armed robbers took a UPS driver hostage and then led police on a chase to Broward.

When the truck stopped in traffic at a light near Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road, the suspects opened fire on the officers and police returned fire, officials said.

UPS driver Frank Ordonez and an innocent bystander in his car, Richard Cutshaw, were killed in the crossfire.

The entire incident was filmed.

Those close to Ordonez said the years since his death seemed eternal.

“It’s been a long four years of suffering, waiting and waiting. Over four years of grieving,” said Joe Merino, Ordonez’s stepfather. “We miss him. We all miss him. We miss his absence.”

“I just hope there's justice. I really do,” said Genevie Merino, Ordonez's sister. “We all want closure and peace. We didn't get that.”

Meanwhile, the Miami-Dade PBA said in a statement on June 10: “We are extremely disappointed that after almost five years, these officers find themselves indicted for something they had seconds to decide… This has a deterrent effect on officers. In Broward County, the State Attorney's Office is prosecuting an officer for failing to respond to an active shooter and is now charging officers with responding to active shooters as the process moves forward, we will monitor it and defend our agents.