12 years after 16-year-old was gunned down in Miami, witness identifies suspect

After 12 years without answers, a suspect was identified in the robbery and fatal shooting of a 16-year-old in Miami, now that a single witness has come forward.

According to an arrest warrant, 30-year-old Adrian Oneal Grimes, also known as "Peanut" or "Nut," may be the man responsible for killing teenager Bryan Herrera on Dec. 22, 2012.

NBC6 covered the crime in 2012, reporting that Herrera was on the way to his friend's house to finish homework when he was gunned down in broad daylight at the intersection of Northwest 11th Avenue and 39th Street.

His destination was only four blocks away.

Herrera was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center but died shortly after.

Police said that though they traced the 911 call to a nearby home, the cellphone's owner had lent his phone to a witness, who left after calling authorities.

Several family members, including his sister, father, mother, stepfather and stepmother, begged for the public's help, to no avail.

Until, that is, that person came forward in June through an attorney, police said. They are identified only by their initials in the arrest warrant for Grimes.

When the witness met with authorities in July, he said he was driving to a relative's house when he turned southbound onto NW 11th Avenue and 39th Street and noticed two people struggling with each other.

The witness said he tried to stop the struggle by mentioning how close they were to Christmas, and said, "Can't we just get along?" That's when the teen replied by silently mouthing, "I'm being robbed."

The witness saw Grimes, who he knew from the neighborhood and for several years before, pointing a gun at the victim, police said, and decided not to intervene.

As he idled his car forward towards 38th Street, he saw the teen try to escape, and then heard a gunshot.

Grimes allegedly fled on a bicycle, while the witness drove to a house where a man was working on his lawn and asked to borrow his phone. The witness called 911 before leaving the scene.

Once he came forward, the witness told police that the man who killed Bryan Herrera had since lost an eye in an unrelated shooting, and was being held at the Federal Detention Center. The witness said he knew that because he himself was recently incarcerated at the same jail for a pending case where he is charged with distribution of 500 grams or more of cocaine.

After getting this information, police tracked down Grimes at that detention center. NBC6 is working to learn why he was serving time.

Authorities also said the witness identified the slain teen as Bryan Herrera by a single photo.

Police reportedly told the witness that Miami police and the State Attorney's Office would not be offering him any benefit in exchange for his cooperation, and he agreed.

The arrest warrant accuses Grimes of first-degree murder.