Guy Shot by Cops Yesterday Once Got Picked up for Soliciting Boys

Around 3:20 p.m. yesterday, Miami-Dade Police responded to a call at 11210 SW 157th St. that a man was threatening someone with a gun over a landlord-tenant dispute.View Larger MapWhen the cops arrived, a 39-year-old named Iran Delima pulled out a gun. One of the officers pulled his own piece…

The Block is Hot Around New Times

Things are getting heated around the ole New Times HQ. Last week, an unknown gunman capped 33-year-old Gregory Poux inside one of the wash bays of the Winwood Windwood Car Wash on NE 29th Street and Second Ave. Today, a disheveled middle-aged man tried to jack the Service Center –…

Miami Dade College Basketball Star Faces Felony Assault Charges

Maybe you’ve never heard of Trevor Mbakwe, but he’s one of the best ballers in Miami. The six-foot-eight-inch forward dominated Florida’s junior college circuit this year, leading the Miami Dade College Sharks to their best season since 1983 — a 26-3 final record and a close loss in the state…

Man Winds Up Dead After Trying to Rob Armored Truck

Three men tried to rob a Brinks armed truck this afternoon, and one of the suspects was fatally shot according to CBS4. The robbery attempt occurred near SW 216th St and SW 103rd Court a little before 2 pm. Police put the area on lockdown while they searched for the suspects. …

Miami Coast Guard Crew Seizes $55 Million Worth of Cocaine

A U.S. Coast Guard crew based out of Miami was onboard the frigate HMS Iron Duke, which if you couldn’t tell by the name is a British Royal Navy vessel. They were off the coast of Venezuela last Thursday when they spotted a suspicious speedboat dumping packages overboard. The crews launched a helicopter and a small boat…

New Trial Sought in Liberty City “Terrorist” Saga

Just when you thought the saga of the “Liberty City Seven” was finally over, the five men who actually ended up with convictions are asking for either an acquittal or yet another retrial. The Seas of David group was originally arrested in June 2006 for suspicion that it was plotting with Al-Qaeda to…

Britto Gets off with No Jail Time for DUI

This past March, artist Romero Britto, whose work seems to be pervasive in South Florida, got popped for driving his 2001 Bentley drunk down Washington Avenue in South Beach. He entered a plea deal today, according to NBC Miami, and won’t serve any jail time. Instead, he will be without a driver’s…

Huizenga’s Son Arrested: Wait, You Can Get a DUI on a Boat?

We just learned two things: H. Wayne Huizenga’s 47-year-old son, Robert Ray, was arrested, and it is possible to be charged with boating under the influence. We don’t have hard statistics on this, but we’d assume boating under the influence is generally less enforced than driving under the influence. Cold…

Report: Billings Double Murder Might Have Been a Contract Hit

Rick Outzen of the Daily Beast is reporting the tragic slaying of Byrd and Melanie Billings, a wealthy North Florida couple who had 17 children, many adopted, might have been a contract hit. The suspect said that the contract price was between $20,000 and $50,000, according to the sources — who requested anonymity,…

Motorcycle Arsonist Has History of Domestic Violence

News reports last week shot around the world — from the Chicago Tribune to MSNBC to El Mercurio of Santiago, Chile. A spurned boyfriend had plowed his motorcycle through the doorway of a Little Havana jewelry shop, barricaded himself inside, and stuffed a flaming rag into the gas tank. After…

Miami Convenience Store Clerk Kills Would-Be Robber

View Larger Map Riptide is a nonviolent blog, but we’re all for self-preservation. And there really is no activity more South Floridian than pulling a gun and blasting on the schlub who just pulled a gun on you. So this evening, we propose a toast to the yet unnamed clerk at La…

Listen up, Bad Guys! Michael Rodriguez Is on to You

Criminals love Michael Rodriguez. This past June, the thin and naive 18-year-old Cash-a-Check employee was duped into giving away a bag filled with $26,000. Con artists promised the money would go to his boss’s wife. It went into their pockets instead. “They were so smart and slick,” he told Riptide back then…

Appalachian Trail Serial Killer Linked to Missing Miami Woman

Four years ago, a heavyset 26-year-old Miami woman named Rossana Miliani walked into a general store in Bryson City, North Carolina, with an older man whose hair was going gray.The man told a clerk he was a preacher who traveled to campsites around the nearby Appalachian Trail. Miliani, who had…