Police Involved Shooting Leaves Suspected Car Thief Dead, Another Charged With Murder

At 5:16AM on Sunday, November 28th, the Coral Gables Police Department received a call from a resident reporting suspects breaking into a vehicle on the 100 block of Calabria Avenue.

Coral Gables police officers responded and witnessed 2 subjects breaking into a vehicle on Calabria, finding the suspects in the vehicle with the hood and driver side door open.

Officers tried to intervene and, according to Coral Gables Police Chief Edward J. Hudak, Jr. were forced to fire upon the subjects to protect their own lives.

The Miami Herald has reported that one suspect, believed to be the lookout, was in a U-Haul pickup truck and according to the arrest report, “the victim/subject turned on the vehicle and attempted to flee and escape the immediate scene by accelerating the truck in the direct path of the officers. The officers fearing for their lives were forced to discharge their weapons.”

One suspect was killed on the scene, the other, identified as 38-year-old Henry Rodriguez, was arrested at the scene while hiding under a nearby car. Rodriguez has been charged with second-degree murder for participating in a crime that lead to the death of an alleged accomplice.

One of the responding officers was been taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries to his lower extremities and was in stable condition later Sunday morning. The other officer was uninjured. Both officers who discharged their weapons have been placed on desk duty pending a formal investigation.

Chief Hudak explained that the investigation, as it is an officer involved shooting, will be carried out by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).