Crime Stoppers International

Police Believe Sean Taylor was “Random” Victim

Reward for Cat Killer Tips Upped

via I Can Haz CheezeburgerThe cat killer of Cutler Bay is still terrorizing South Dade neighborhoods, and the brutal killings only seem to get worse. Authorities believe the criminal strikes the cats with an unknown object before mutilating them with a knife. He then leaves the ... More >>

Sweet Truth

A filmmaker's exposé peeves the sugar powers.

Killer Creativity

Miami-Dade's Forensic Art Unit draws a bead on crime

Is The Cat Killer Actually a Team of Cat Killers on Wheels?

via ICHCBUp until now we've imagined the cat killer as an Anton Chigurh-like character solitarily roaming the streets of South Miami-Dade looking for his next victim, but CBS4 reports that now police think a team of cat killers may be at work. More than 60 tips have come into the Crime Stoppers ... More >>

Wachovia Robber Caught on Tape

Around 11:20 this morning, a slim black man -- about six-foot-one and wearing camouflage pants, a yellow shirt, and a black skull cap -- walked into the Wachovia Bank at 160 SW Eighth St. He waited patiently in line, and when he got to a teller, he handed her a note demanding cash. Police aren't say ... More >>

Transsexual Charged Again with Back-Alley Silicone Injections

via Flagler County Sheriff's OfficeThe male-to-female transsexual sent to jail after a client's botched cosmetic procedure ended in death was arrested again this morning. Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputies and Florida Department of Health agents raided the quiet two-story home of Donnie Hendri ... More >>

Murder Miami Style: Man Fatally Shot in Northwest Miami-Dade

A man was found lying dead with gunshot wounds on a Northwest Miami-Dade street last night, according to Miami-Dade Police.Cops found the body of 22-year-old Israel Travis on the pavement in front of 9111 NW 29th Ct. after they responded to a call about gunshots fired at 10:25 p.m.In January 2007,&n ... More >>

Airport Hotel the Scene of a Possible Murder

Miami-Dade Police found a young Hialeah man dead this morning at the Days Inn Miami International Airport Hotel. He was identified at 3:30 a.m. as 21-year-old Raudel Sanchez. The noisy, rundown hotel is located on NW 11th Street on the southwest side of the airport. Not much is yet known ... More >>

Overtown Killer Has a Bad MySpace

Rodney Miller, 18, was arrested yesterday in the July shooting at a birthday party in Overtown in which two were left dead, and 10 others shot. He was charged with two counts of second degree murder. There are six MySpace pages registered to a Rodney Miller in Miami. Though listing his age as 1 ... More >>

Veteran Miami PD Detective Charged in Crime Stoppers Scam

Federal authorities charged a veteran City of Miami detective today with scamming the Crime Stoppers tip program for thousands of dollars.​Wayne Fortella, an 11-year vet, faces wire fraud charges for the scam, which netted him $5,000, says Annette Castillo, a spokeswoman for the U.S. District Atto ... More >>

News Roundup

In order to move forward on that wonderful "Slot Machines in the Airport" idea, the County Commission ok'd the Airport's pursuit of getting a horse racing permit. [SFBJ]Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan traveled to Tallahassee yesterday to ask that the government facilitate the filming of more televi ... More >>

Murder Miami Style: Two Dead in Separate Shootings Across Town This Morning

View Larger MapIn a bizarre coincidence, two men died and another clings to life this morning after separate shootings 15 miles apart at virtually the same time. The deadly hour was 6:30 a.m. One shooting left 43-year-old Conrado Antigua Gallardo dead on the street at 1550 SW 131st Ct.. in Tamiami. ... More >>

Scooterist Dies in Hit-and-Run on Causeway as Witnesses Drive By

Twenty-one-year-old Geraldo Pagano of Orlando was driving his scooter over the wet and rainy 79th Street Causeway just before midnight yesterday when he lost control. He fell to the ground but managed to pick himself up. Then a gray four-door Kia hit him, sending Pagano and the scooter flying into t ... More >>

News Roundup: Grandmother Killed Over $5

A grandmother in Lauderdale Lakes was killed after she refused to give her teenage attacker $5 to buy marijuana. [Herald]A former Miami cop who devised a scheme to steal $15,000 from Crime Stoppers will get only two months in jail. [Herald]A University of Miami doctor who led much of the early medic ... More >>

Paula Sladewski Murder: Sketch Released of Suspect

​Nearly a month after the body of aspiring model Paula Sladewski was found in flames in a dumpster, North Miami Police have finally released a sketch of a man they say witnesses last saw her with.Sladewski was visiting Miami with her boyfriend, Kevin Klym, to catch Lady Gaga's New Year's Eve conce ... More >>

Tomato-Crazed Attacker on the Loose

​We haven't seen a fight over tomatoes this heated since Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers argued about the fruit's correct pronunciation in Shall We Dance. Luckily, they decided to call the whole thing off before anyone's neck got broken.Lerner Rodriguez wasn't so lucky.The Miami Beach resident was ... More >>

One Killed, Three Others Wounded in NW Dade Shooting

Shots rang out last night near 95th Street and Northwest 29th Avenue, as two unidentified men shot at four others. Police were called a little after 9:30 p.m., when they arrived they found the four victims, all males between the ages 30 and 40. They were taken to the Ryder Trauma Center where one, ... More >>

ATM Stolen With Forklift

via WSVNTrains, forklifts, planes, and automobiles. Today's News Roundup has it all. In terms of stealing major amounts of cash from a bank, just straight jacking the ATM always seems like the dumbest, the messiest, and, consequently, usually the most hilarious. A Bank of America branch at 9890 Bird ... More >>

Police Searching for Guy Who Flashed 13-Year-Old at Bus Stop

​We're not really sure what it is that drives people to expose themselves to teenagers in public. Psychologically at least. In this case we know the man was driving in a dark-colored, older- model, four-door car when he pulled up to a bus stop yesterday morning at NW 87th Avenue and Fourth Street ... More >>

Crying 3-Year-Old Pushed in the Face by Horrible Man

Dealing with other people's crying kids is just a part of life. In the scheme of things, it's really nothing to get overly annoyed at. Well, a man in a Surfside Publix crossed the line.The man was in an elevator with a mother and her two young daughters. The woman's 3-year-old was crying, and the ma ... More >>

Pat Riley Sued for Keeping Land Deal Profits to Himself

Famous for a different kind of suit. ​Heat President Pat Riley has bigger problems this summer than just trying to re-sign guard Dwyane Wade. Riley is being sued for $5.5 million by a real estate broker who says the Hall of Fame coach didn't live up to a promise he made to break him off a pi ... More >>

Driver on Cell Phone Kills 73-Year-Old Man in Hit-and-Run on Eighth Street

Ramon Loret Demola, age 73, was walking on the sidewalk along SW Eighth Street near 24th Avenue yesterday when he was struck by what's being described as a white or light silver or gray SUV. The driver, who witnesses say was talking on a cell phone, drove his car onto the sidewalk, hit Demola, and d ... More >>

Wigged-Out Pregnant Thief Targets University of Miami

​A thief suspected of targeting the University of Miami is apparently stealing for two. Surveillance videos have connected the woman, who appears visibly pregnant, to thefts from various buildings on the university's Coral Gable campus. However, each time she seems to be wearing a d ... More >>

Pizza-Ordering Parrot Birdnapped from Hialeah

via WSVN​In today's roundup of horrible things: a pet parrot that could order pizza was stolen in Hialeah, "baby sperm dies," the Miami-Dade man infected with dengue fever is doing just fine, and 36 people were arrested in a Medicare fraud sweep.

Tourist Couple Walks In On Burglary in South Beach Hotel Room

via Flickr​In today's roundup of horrible things and other news: a tourist couple is robbed at gunpoint, a 15-year-old is fatally shot in Overtown, an 11-year-old is accidentally shot by his own mother, and two people are found hanging in a South Florida park. 

Hearing-/Speech-Impaired Woman Sexually Assaulted Near Metrorail

via WSVNThis man is suspected of sexually assaulting a woman in a Metrorail station garage. ​In today's summary of horrible things to happen in this town: A hearing- and speech-impaired woman is sexually assaulted in a Metrorail station garage stairwell, a careless driver injures both a cop and a ... More >>

Hit-and-Run in SoBe Leaves Stilettos and Car Parts Scattered in the Street

A woman was struck outside the Loews. ​In today's roundup of horrible things: a hit-and-run sends a woman flying into the air in South Beach, someone slams a car into a Hialeah McDonald's, a toddler who went for a tumble should be fine, and there might be a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow in d ... More >>

Man Shot in Chest During Nail Salon Robbery

​Nail salon employee is not a job usually associated with danger, but a worker at the Nails 4 U salon on Biscayne Boulevard and 155th Street was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital last night for surgery after being shot in the chest on the job.

Child-Porn Suspect Was Set to Play Santa at Miami Middle School

​Charlie Garcia, 30 an 11-year employee at Paul W. Bell Middle School, located in west Miami-Dade, was all set to play Santa Claus for the school's holiday festivities. Then Broward Sheriff's Officers knocked on his door. They arrested him for the very un-Santa like crime of possessing child porn ... More >>

Man Who Abducted Woman from Gas Station and Raped Her is on the Loose

​Last night, a woman returned to her car after making a purchase at a Chevron gas station in Kendall. She got in the drivers seat shortly after midnight and prepared to pull away when she felt a firearm press up against the back of her head. A man had climbed into her backseat and waited for her. ... More >>

Robber Uses Stun Gun on Elderly Woman and Little Dog in Jewelry Theft

A sketch of the perp. ​Knock, Knock. Who's there? A thief posing as a door-to-door pharmacist who is packing a stun gun, that's who.An elderly woman was robbed last week in such a bizarre occurrence, and now police are on the hunt for the suspect.

Jesus Alvarez Set His Girlfriend on Fire

​Miami-Dade Police are on the hunt for Jesus Alvarez, 41, after he set his girlfriend on fire after a fight in their mobile home. The incident occurred after 6 p.m. in the 2200 block of Northwest 27th Ave. The woman is now at Jackson Memorial Hospital in serious condition.

Teen Shot Outside Miami Norland High, Gunman Still at Large

​An argument between two students yesterday afternoon at Miami Norland Senior Senior High School turned violent yesterday as one student pulled out a gun and shot the other in his rear end. The 17-year-old victim is recovering, and his injuries are not life threatening. However, the student who sh ... More >>

Two Drive-By Shootings Claim Two Lives, Three Others Injured

​Two drive-by shootings in Miami this weekend that occurred just block and hours from each other resulted in the death of two people, and the injury of three others. The first critically injured a teenager, while the second claimed two lives and left two others injured.

Four Children Hit by Bullets When Gunmen Fire on Park

Two masked men drove up to Miami's West Little River Park yesterday around 6 p.m. and began firing. Four children, one as young as 3 years old, were hit by stray bullets. None of the injuries was life-threatening. 

Luna Star Cafe Robbery Puts Retired NYC Cop in Hospital

​When three masked men armed with pistols entered the Luna Star Cafe in North Miami on Saturday night, Ira Goldstein, a retired NYPD officer in his late 60s, tried to intervene. Unfortunately Goldstein wound up in the hospital, and the robber made off with money from the cash register and valuable ... More >>

Homestead Man Stabs 12-Year-Old After Argument

​We're not sure what kind of grown man gets into a heated public argument with a random 12-year-old boy. We're certainly not sure what kind of man then decides it's a good idea to end the argument by pulling out a knife and stabbing the child. All we know is that kind of man is now apparently on t ... More >>

Disabled Students Miss School After Batteries Stolen From Buses

​Several students with disabilities were forced to miss school today because someone broke into a school bus lot over the holiday weekend and stole batteries from more than 30 buses. Most of the buses were specially equipped to handle wheelchairs and transport disabled students to school.

One Killed, One Injured in Liberty City Shooting

​This past Sunday afternoon in Liberty City, suspects began shooting at two men inside a silver Nissan. The bullets left DeRon Woody dead and Greg Roberts injured. The suspects then fled in a black Buick sedan.

Man Hospitalized After Baby Mama Stabs Him At Work

One very angry, armed and dangerous baby mama remains at large in Miami today, while the father of her child is at Jackson Memorial Hospital recovering from a stab wound. According to police, the man was working at the Shell gas station near Northwest Seventh Avenue and 54th Street when th ... More >>

Crooks Steal Guns Right Out of Miami-Dade Police Cruisers

​Not a good week for Miami-Dade police officers keeping their cars safe. On Monday, police shot and killed a man who jumped in a police cruiser and took off after causing a fatal traffic accident.Now, police have caught crooks on video breaking into parked police cruisers and stealing guns and amm ... More >>

Escaped Bald Inmate John Garrido on the Loose in Miami: UPDATED

​John Paul Garrido, a 26-year-old inmate, is on the loose in Miami after slipping out of police custody earlier today. Miami-Dade police officers are conducting a mass search for the man near the 1400 block of Northwest North River Drive -- and have enlisted the help of Photoshop in their effort t ... More >>

Paul Michael Mira, Charter School Athletic Director, Allegedly Raped 12-Year-Old Girl

​Paul Michael Mira, the athletic director of Archimedean Middle Conservatory and Archimedean Upper Conservatory, two associated Miami-Dade charter schools, is on the run after being accused of committing sexual battery on a 12-year-old girl. Police report that Mira has told relatives that he' ... More >>

Shots Fired at Miami Gardens Police During Car Chase

​Miami Gardens police were following a stolen car last night when one of the suspects pulled out a gun and began firing at a police cruiser. Police are now searching for the gunman, but have not released a description.

Man Attacks Minimart Cashier With Chemical Spray and Hammer, Flees with Cigarettes

Google street viewAlex Mini Market was the site of a bizarre, horrific attack yesterday​On Saturday, disgruntled New York City handyman Jerome Isaac allegedly set an old woman on fire over $2,000 in unpaid work.Not to be outdone in the category of "horrific and senseless crimes," one Miami man has ... More >>