Category Archives: Miami

‘We’re ready’: Miami police prepared for Trump arraignment

Posted on by

Police chief says department taking Trump court appearance ‘extremely seriously’ and that it can handle crowds of up to 50,000

As court officials set up barricades and police tape around the Miami courthouse where Donald Trump is due to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon, police officials sought to assure local residents they would safely handle any protests.

“Make no mistake about it, we’re taking this event extremely seriously, and there’s a potential for things to take a turn for the worse,” said the city’s police chief, Manuel Morales, adding “but that’s not the Miami way.

Continue reading...

Miami Beach imposes curfew on unruly crowds as spring break turns deadly

Posted on by

Police in Florida city implement midnight-to-six ban after two fatal shootings and could do likewise next weekend

Two deadly shootings and unruly crowds which police have struggled to control during spring break prompted officials in the Florida city of Miami Beach to impose a curfew late on Sunday – and there could be a similar one next weekend.

City officials said in a news release that they implemented a curfew from 11.59pm Sunday until 6am Monday, and another is likely to be put in place on Thursday through next Monday, 27 March. The curfew mainly affected South Beach, spring breakers’ most popular party spot.

Continue reading...

Mexican actor sentenced to five years for fatally punching man in Miami

Posted on by

Pablo Lyle, a telenovela star, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in October after 2019 road rage incident

A Mexican telenovela star and Netflix series actor received a five-year prison sentence Friday after punching a man to death during a road rage confrontation in Miami in 2019.

Pablo Lyle’s sentence came four years after he was charged with murder in the death of a man he struck during an encounter in traffic. A jury ultimately found Lyle guilty in October of involuntary manslaughter in the killing of 63-year-old Juan Ricardo Hernández.

Continue reading...

Russian owner of cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato arrested in Miami

Posted on by

Prosecutors allege Anatoly Legkodymov’s company became a ‘safe haven’ for proceeds of criminal activity

A Russian national who founded a cryptocurrency exchange that the justice department says became a haven for the proceeds of criminal activity has been arrested, federal officials said on Wednesday.

Anatoly Legkodymov, who lives in China, was arrested on Tuesday night in Miami and was due in court on a charge of conducting an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

Continue reading...

Odell Beckham Jr removed from flight after refusing to fasten seatbelt

Posted on by
  • NFL star appeared to drift in and out of consciousness
  • Wide receiver was escorted off plane by police officers

NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr was removed by police from an aircraft before takeoff at Miami International Airport after officials said he failed to respond to requests to buckle his seatbelt and appeared to be unconscious, police and airline officials said on Sunday.

“Fearing that Mr Beckham was seriously ill, and that his condition would worsen through the expected five-hour flight, [aircraft crew members] called for police and fire rescue,” Miami-Dade Police Department said in a statement. “As they tried to wake [Beckham] to fasten his seat belt, he appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness.”

Continue reading...

Airplane catches on fire at Miami airport after landing gear collapses

Posted on by

Authorities said all aboard the flight, which had arrived from the Dominican Republic, were safe

An airplane caught fire after landing at Miami International airport on Tuesday, but authorities have said all passengers are safe.

The fire broke out when landing gear inside the airplane collapsed during landing, NBC Miami reported. The Red Air flight had arrived from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, according to a spokesperson from the Miami-Dade aviation department.

Continue reading...

Victims of Florida condo collapse could receive nearly $1bn in settlement

Posted on by

The 12-story Champlain Towers South building in Surfside had collapsed abruptly in June 2021, killing 98 people

A nearly $1bn tentative settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit brought by families of victims and survivors of last June’s condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, an attorney said Wednesday.

Harley S Tropin announced the $997m settlement during a hearing before Miami-Dade circuit court judge Michael Hanzman. Still pending final approval, the settlement involves insurance companies, developers of an adjacent building and other defendants.

Continue reading...

BVI premier accused of cocaine trafficking granted bail in Miami

Posted on by

Judge rejects prosecutors’ claim that Andrew Fahie, arrested in DEA drug sting, could flee US if freed from prison

The premier of the British Virgin Islands, whom US prosecutors described in court as “corrupt to the core”, has been given a $500,000 bond that would allow him to be released from prison as he awaits trial on charges tied to a US narcotics sting.

Federal court judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes rejected prosecutors’ argument that Andrew Fahie would flee the US and possibly engage in criminal activity if he is freed.

Continue reading...

‘Head coach wants to play’: the US drug sting that led to BVI premier’s arrest

Posted on by

Andrew Fahie is due in court on drug charges in Miami after arrest following months-long undercover operation

In mid-October, as Sir Gary Hickinbottom’s commission of inquiry into the government of the British Virgin Islands, led by the premier, Andrew Fahie, was taking laborious public oral evidence for a 44th day, a US Drug Enforcement Administration informant was, according to court papers, meeting some self-proclaimed Lebanese Hezbollah operatives on the BVI island of Tortola to discuss how to shift cocaine through the territory en route to Puerto Rico, Miami and New York.

Hickinbottom was taking mind-numbingly dull evidence on how to apply for BVI citizenship, and whether the process was open to manipulation.

Continue reading...

Residents ordered to evacuate building near to site of Miami condo collapse

Posted on by

Second building ordered evacuated in North Miami Beach since collapse of Champlain Towers South last June in nearby Surfside, which killed 98 people

Residents of a five-story apartment building in North Miami Beach were ordered to evacuate after officials deemed the building “structurally unsound” during its 50-year recertification process, officials said.

The residents of Bayview 60 Homes were ordered out on Monday by city officials. It was the second building ordered evacuated in the city since the collapse of Champlain Towers South last June in nearby Surfside, which killed 98 people.

Continue reading...

Miami rapper Baby Cino shot dead after leaving prison

Posted on by

Unidentified gunman kills 20-year-old vocalist minutes after he was released on bond following arrest in Opa-locka, Florida

Tributes have been paid to Baby Cino, an aspiring rapper from Miami, who was shot and killed in a daylight ambush minutes after leaving a city jail on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old vocalist, whose real name was Timothy Starks, was arrested by Miami-Dade officers at 2am in Opa-locka, Florida on Tuesday after they pulled him over for driving with an obscured number plate. On searching his car, police found a fully loaded Glock 32 pistol.

Continue reading...

Helicopter crashes into ocean at crowded Miami Beach, injuring two – video

Posted on by

A helicopter has crashed into the water off Miami Beach, just a few feet away from swimmers in a crowded stretch popular with tourists. A video shared by police captured the chopper descending over the ocean and crashing into the water as sunbathers packed the beach and others swam. Two of the three passengers onboard were taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition, police said, adding that no one else appeared to be injured

Continue reading...

Stowaway survives flight from Guatemala to Miami hidden in plane’s landing gear

Posted on by

The Guatemalan man was taken to hospital by immigration officials after emerging from the plane on the tarmac

A stowaway hidden in the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines jet survived a flight from his home country of Guatemala to Miami, where he was turned over to US immigration officials and taken to a hospital for evaluation.

The US customs and border protection agency confirmed the incident in a statement initially cited by Miami-based television station WTVJ, which posted video taken of the man at Miami international airport shortly after the plane landed on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Death toll rises to 90 in Miami condo collapse as search for victims continues

Posted on by
  • Some 31 people remain listed as missing
  • Team of first responders from Israel departs

Authorities searching for victims of a deadly condo collapse in Florida said Sunday they hope to conclude their painstaking work in the coming weeks as a team of first responders from Israel departed the site.

The Miami-Dade county mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, said 90 deaths have now been confirmed in last month’s collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, up from 86 a day before. Among them are 71 bodies that have been identified, and their families have been notified, she said. Some 31 people remain listed as missing.

Continue reading...

Miami condo collapse death toll hits 60 as rescue efforts end

Posted on by

Six victims were recovered Thursday morning, with 80 still unaccounted for as officials say no chance of life in rubble

Rescue efforts at the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, officially ended late on Wednesday night as officials have said there is no chance of life in the rubble.

Six victims were recovered on Thursday morning, bringing the death toll to 60 and the number of unaccounted to 80. Of those who were recovered, 35 have been identified.

Continue reading...

‘No chance of life’: search for survivors ends as Miami condo deaths hit 46

Posted on by
  • About 100 people remain unaccounted for in Surfside
  • ‘Our primary goal is to bring closure to the families’

Emergency workers have given up hope of finding survivors in a collapsed Florida condo building, telling distraught families that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble as crews shifted their efforts from rescue to recovery mode on Wednesday.

The announcement followed increasingly somber reports from officials, who have told relatives to brace for the worst.

Continue reading...

Miami condo collapse: death toll reaches 27 as demolition expands search area

Posted on by

More than 115 still unaccounted for after remaining structure is brought down

Three more victims were discovered in the rubble of the collapsed South Florida condo building on Monday after crews set off a string of explosives that brought down the last of the structure, allowing search efforts to resume.

Miami-Dade’s assistant fire chief, Raide Jadallah, told family members that the bodies of three more people had been found, raising the death toll to 27 people. More than 115 people remain unaccounted for.

Continue reading...

Partially collapsed Florida condo fully demolished in late-night controlled explosion – video

Posted on by

The partially collapsed Miami-area condo has been demolished. Demolition crews set off explosives to bring down the damaged remaining portion of a collapsed South Florida condo where no one has so far been found alive. The demolition Sunday night was key to resuming the search for victims of the 24 June collapse, with the approaching Hurricane Elsa storm adding urgency to the project.  So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing.

Continue reading...

Miami condo collapse: reports reveal board’s long debate over repairs

Posted on by

Documents obtained by media show concern and frustration after engineer warned of structural damage

New reports have detailed long debate among condo board members at Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, over extensive and costly repairs the building was expected to undergo before it collapsed on 24 June.

Related: Miami condo death toll rises to 24 amid plans to demolish remaining structure

Continue reading...

Miami firefighter’s daughter found dead in condo rubble as toll rises to 20

Posted on by

Two bodies recovered overnight, including the young girl, with 128 still unaccounted for

The seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter was found dead in the rubble of a collapsed condominium, officials said on Friday as they announced the official death toll in Miami had risen to 20 people.

The Miami-Dade county mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, said the rescue mission overnight was difficult as operations stretched into their ninth day.

Continue reading...