Second suspected Miami Springs vandal arrested

By THEO KARANTSALIS

A second man suspected of shooting out car windows in Miami Springs and Hialeah was arrested Friday.

Police arrested Jose Antonio Lopez, Jr., who turned 18 last month, after a video surfaced allegedly showing him standing through the sunroof of an SUV while firing a BB gun into neighborhood vehicles.

Miami Springs resident Matthew Foreman, 18, an alleged accomplice of Lopez, was arrested on Thursday and charged with criminal mischief and throwing a deadly missile, according to Miami-Dade County court records.

"I'm very upset about this," said Frank Fernandez, of Hialeah, who paid $139 to have the rear window of his Ford Escort replaced after it was shot out by vandals last month. "If they did this, then they should have to pay to fix every car they damaged."

Lopez, the alleged shooter, has been charged with 33 felony counts of criminal mischief, according to the Miami-Dade Corrections database.

Lopez is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 6.

Miami man indicted after claiming trillions in refunds

By THEO KARANTSALIS

A Miami man released from prison in 2007 allegedly filed fraudulent returns with the IRS seeking more than $14 trillion in refunds.

The four-count indictment charges Marlon T. Moore, 38, with impeding the due administration of the internal revenue laws for filing false claims with the IRS.

Moore, who also goes by the name "X-Large Moore," filed extra large claims with the IRS, including claims for $5,950,000,000,000, $2,975,000,000,000 and $6,000,000,000,000.

Moore knows the government doesn't owe him these amounts, said the U.S. Attorney's office in Miami.

If convicted, Moore faces up to three years’ incarceration for impeding the due administration of the IRS laws, and up to five years’ incarceration for each false statement count.

Miami Springs man to be sentenced for fraud

By THEO KARANTSALIS

A Miami Springs man who claimed he owned a “seat” on the New York Stock Exchange pled guilty to a charge of securities fraud in Miami federal court on June 22.

Luis Giro, 47, had been a fugitive from 2003 until his arrest by Venezuelan authorities last month. He was turned over to the FBI, who arrested Giro on May 21 for mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, according to the warrant.

Giro was the president of Miami Springs-based Giro Investments Group, Inc., located at 41 South Royal Poinciana Blvd., according to state records.

Giro solicited investors to invest money with Giro Investments Group in return for “guaranteed” annual yields or interest payments to investors of between 15% and 30%, according to the indictment.

According to the indictment, Giro received approximately $2 million from at least 15 investors – that included friends and acquaintances – after he represented to them that investing with Giro Investments Group was “safe,” a “sure thing,” and involved “no risk.” Giro provided documents to assure investors that he took a “conservative” approach to investing in the securities markets and traded stocks that included General Electric, Intel and Microsoft, according to the indictment.

From November 1997 through October 2001, Giro deposited investors’ money in bank accounts he maintained at Commercial Bank of Florida and Barnett Bank. The indictment states that on several occasions, Giro deposited investors’ money directly into his personal account at Commercial Bank to pay for personal expenses.

Of the $2 million received, Giro misappropriated “at least” $500,000 by making payments directly to himself and members of his family. He lost about $600,000 of investors’ money trading through Giro Investments’ TD Waterhouse account.

Giro is scheduled to be sentenced on Sep. 2 and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Cabbie robbed and shot in Miami

Photo caption: Miami-Dade police officers photograph crime scene after cabbie was shot.

Photo credit: THEO KARANTSALIS/NEWZ DAWG PRESS LLC

Newz Dawg Press report here.

Retired cop: Fire OK Trooper

Dash cam video released that shows trooper scuffling with EMT

The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety released the dash cam video that shows Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Daniel Martin scuffling with EMT Maurice White on May 24.

NEWS DAWG PRESS LLC

Miami Springs cop killer to be re-tried

By THEO KARANTSALIS

In 1994, Merrit Alonso Sims was convicted of murdering Miami Springs Police Officer Charles Stafford.

Sims, 43, of Liberty City, was sentenced by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Thomas Carney to the electric chair and sat on death row for the next 13 years.

On July 12, 2007, the Florida Supreme Court vacated Sims’ convictions and sentence and remanded the case to be re-tried in Miami-Dade County court.

In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that “there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.”

According to the decision, as Stafford was handcuffing him, Sims struck the officer in the head with his police radio, robbed him of his police pistol, and shot him twice. Sims admitted shooting Stafford, but asserted from the outset that he had done so in self-defense after Officer Stafford had choked him, used racial epithets and repeatedly threatened to kill him.

The new trial is scheduled to start in July and will be heard by Judge John W. Thornton.