Public Safety · Miami, FL
A memo released this week by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office declared that three Miami Police officers' use of deadly force during a June 14, 2025 shooting outside the Electric Lady nightclub in Wynwood was legally justified. The shooting killed gunman Norman Lindo Jr. and 28-year-old bystander Evelyn Valdés, who was struck while riding in a car leaving the scene; a club manager was also hit but survived. Sergeants Jose Cabrera and Javier Herbello and Officer Dorian Acosta opened fire after Lindo failed to drop a weapon he was brandishing in a crowded street. Valdés' mother has filed a lawsuit against the officers and the city alleging excessive force, wrongful death, and negligence. Two officers returned to full duty two weeks after the incident; the third was reassigned to the real-time crime center.
Local Politics · Miami Beach, FL
Miami Beach commissioners approved a new multiyear agreement to continue hosting Art Basel at the Miami Beach Convention Center through 2031, with an optional extension through 2033. The art fair has been held in the city since 2002 and attracted approximately 80,000 visitors last year. City officials cited roughly $570 million in economic impact across Miami-Dade County from the event.
Public Safety · Miami-Dade County
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office is searching for 89-year-old Byron Davalos, who suffers from Alzheimer's and was last seen Oct. 15 near the 1000 Block of NE 203 Street in North Miami-Dade. Davalos has gray balding hair, brown eyes, stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds, and was last driving a black 2013 Kia Soul (tag KGBV28). He made contact with a reporter at a Shell gas station at 70 Crandon Boulevard in Key Biscayne and may be in need of services. Anyone with information is asked to contact Deputy M. Eloi at 305-715-3300 or Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
Crime · Miami, FL
Leslie Howard Roberts, 63, owner of Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, was sentenced in Miami federal court this month to three years and 10 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Roberts must repay nearly $2.6 million earned by falsely representing artwork as original Andy Warhol pieces, claiming they came from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts with fraudulent invoices. A co-conspirator, Carlos Rodriguez Melendez, posed as a New York auction company employee to authenticate forgeries and received probation. The case follows a 2023 federal sentence for another South Florida dealer in Palm Beach County convicted of selling fake Warhols.
Local Politics
Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds and running mate Bryan Ávila held a campaign event Friday morning at the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, addressing voters on communism, affordability, and law-and-order issues. Democratic candidate David Jolly met with pastors and Black voters from across Florida at a Florida East Coast Baptist Association meeting in Deerfield Beach, emphasizing housing, healthcare, education, and opposition to data centers as his campaign priorities. Early voting for the Florida gubernatorial race begins Monday, Oct. 19, with Election Day set for Nov. 3. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to join Jolly on the campaign trail next week in South Florida, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will campaign separately across the state.
