Miami-Dade police investigate an entire squad of Kendall cops
Miami Herald - August 11, 2011
by Michelle Hammmontree-Garcia
A Kendall District police squad, made up of five to six officers and a sergeant, has been put on suspension with pay while the Miami-Dade Police Internal Affairs Bureau conducts an investigation.
The squad has been on suspension for at least a month. But Miami-Dade police have little else to say other than that Internal Affairs in investigating their conduct while on duty.
Maj. James O?Donnell, who heads the Kendall District station, said: ?At this point they are under investigation for actions conducted while on their work schedule. Once the investigation is complete, appropriate action will be taken, if necessary.
Although police internal affairs investigations of individual officers are not uncommon with an agency as large as the Miami-Dade Police Department, a probe of an entire squad is unusual.
Documents pertaining to internal investigations of police officers are exempt from Florida's public records law until the probe is complete.
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| Nov. 2010: Gunman chases Michael Beatty in Liberty City. |
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| Terrance Marquis Young gets a free ride to the Miami-Dade County jail Friday courtesy of Miami Beach Police. (Photo WSVN.) |
Left to right: Lance Matthew Riley, Terrance Marquis Young
and Willie Devell Travis Cuyler Jr.
An 11-year-old boy's 911 call when three men broke into his home resulted in the arrest of the alleged perpetrators, Friday morning.
The Miami Beach resident said that he was just doing what his mother taught him to do in case of a break-in: hide and call 911. "I was scared to death, I was just thinking [to myself], 'I hope they don't catch me, please don't [let them] find me,'" said Lee, the young boy whose quick thinking saved the day.
After seeing three men breaking the glass in the front door, Lee immediately dialed 911.
911 operator: "911, what is your emergency?"
Lee: "Hi, I'm in Miami Beach, Florida. Someone tried to break into my house, please hurry."
911 operator: "OK, I need your phone number."
Lee: "They're breaking the door, please hurry."
911 operator: "OK, are you there?"
Lee: "Yes, I'm home. I'm home alone, please hurry."
The boy then hid behind a closet door while the alleged robbers ransacked his home, located on the 3200 block of Chase Avenue in Miami Beach. "I was in the closet, and then one of them was right in front of me trying to look around, but they didn't see me," Lee said.
Police arrived moments later, catching the getaway driver in his white Dodge Charger in the driveway. The two others took off running and were apprehended blocks away.
Lee then called his mother, Leticia, who was out exercising in the Miami Beach boardwalk. She called 911 as well, not realizing the alleged robbers had been captured.
[...]
Miami Beach Police Sergeant Bobby Hernandez credited Lee for taking the three crooks off the streets. "When the officers actually made entry into the house, they located him in the closet," said Officer Bobby Hernandez.
"When they opened the closet door, he was trembling, he was so scared, but he was still brave enough to stay on the phone [with the 911 operator]," Hernandez continued. The officer added that Lee's "first priority" following the incident "was finding Lola, his dog."
[...]
Now in police custody, the alleged thieves, Willie Cuyler, Lance Riley and Terrance Young, are facing multiple charges.
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I don’t like to talk about it, because the reason for opening Nikki Beach is very personal. My young daughter, Nicole, died in a car accident in [1997]. In order to deal with my emotional situation, I created a garden for her at Penrod's Beach Club in South Beach. She would have loved the garden by the sea. I had no intention of making a business out of it, but one day two young guys showed up who wanted to have a Monday night party there. At first, I said no, but they were the same age as Nicole, so I gave in.From the Miami Herald, March 16, 1998:
[...]
I decided that my personal tragedy shouldn’t consume me, but that I should pay tribute to the life she lived, a commitment to celebrate life. There’s a picture of Nicole in every place we open.
A pickup truck driven by a plumber rammed into the rear of a Toyota 4-Runner 10 months ago, killing Nicole Penrod , 18-year-old daughter of millionaire club owner Jack Penrod.In 1999, LeDoux was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. He was released in 2008.
Now Marcel LeDoux , 41, is charged with two DUI counts, one for manslaughter and the other for causing serious injury to passenger Jennifer Ireland, 19, a University of Pennsylvania freshman. The impact broke her neck. LeDoux is also charged with marijuana possession. Police found pot, a scale and about $1,400 cash in his truck.
LeDoux's blood-alcohol level was 0.19, more than twice the legal limit, says Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Gonzalo Pena. The driver of the 4-Runner, Gina Canoniga, took a blood test that night. Negative for alcohol, but positive for marijuana, Pena says.
She received immunity from prosecution, her lawyer Roy Black says. ``A tragic accident, but it wasn't Gina's fault,'' says Sherry Ireland, Jennifer's mother.
The good Samaritan who followed and helped officers find the driver who struck and killed a man in Miami Beach said the woman appeared to be 'really drunk,' according to 911 calls released by police Tuesday.Today Miami Beach Police spokesperson Sgt. Bobby Hernandez told the Huffington Post that investigators are not looking into whether or not laws were broken at the club.
[...]
Officers and witnesses said Tomica had slurred speech, an odor of alcohol on her breath and was unsteady on her feet, the [arrest] affidavit said. She refused field sobriety tests but a blood sample was taken and the results are pending, the report said.
"Our investigation solely is the hit-and-run accident," Hernandez said, adding that prosecutors may later try to establish whether or not Tomica was drinking at the club.Tomica is free on $10,000 bond. She's scheduled to appear before a judge on Feb. 27th.
