One of the officers accused in the 2019 shootout that killed a hostage and bystander is asking a judge to throw out the charges, based in part on evidence NBC6 Investigates first brought to light. Tony Pipitone reports
It's been more than five years since Miami-Dade deputies opened fire on armed robbers and kidnappers stopped in traffic in Miramar, and four of them are facing manslaughter charges in the deaths of the criminals' hostage and a bystander.
And on Wednesday, one of those officers asked a judge to throw out the charges based in part on evidence NBC6 Investigates first brought to light last November.
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Background on the shootout
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The deadly shootout happened in December 2019, when two desperate, fleeing felons spotted a UPS truck parked on a Coral Gables street and saw an opportunity to further their escape, having just robbed a jewelry store.
They took delivery driver Frank Ordonez hostage, stole his truck, and led police on a two-county chase that ended in stopped traffic on Miramar Parkway.
The hail of bullets that followed led to four current or former Miami-Dade deputies being indicted in June 2024 by Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor’s grand jury on manslaughter charges in the deaths of Ordonez and – for one of those officers – Richard Cutshaw, a motorist shot as his car idled in traffic.
The latest developments
Attorney Richard Diaz is seeking dismissal of the charges against suspended Miami-Dade Deputy Jose Mateo, under what is called Stand Your Ground immunity, arguing he acted in the defense of himself or others.
“Police officers not only have the right, but they have an obligation to pursue fleeing felons,” Diaz told NBC6.
But prosecutor Chuck Morton told Judge Ernest Kollra on Wednesday that that can’t be used under these circumstances. The key, Morton says, is whether what Mateo and other officers did was reasonable and prudent, when according to an FDLE investigation, 20 police officers from four agencies fired up to 221 rounds over 25 seconds.
Videos first revealed by NBC6 Investigates confirmed all those shots were fired after one of the kidnappers, Hill, opened fire on authorities and the public.
Mateo’s bodycam video shows him running up to the scene and, according to his motion for immunity, “discharging all of the rounds in his clip in an effort to ensure he could eliminate the threat.”
Hill was certainly eliminated–shot 40 times. His getaway driver apparently shot himself in the temple soon after Hill opened fire.
But also killed were Ordonez and a man sitting in his car at the red light, Richard Cutshaw.
It’s for one or both of those deaths that State Attorney Harold Pryor had his grand jury indict four officers on manslaughter charges, saying the force was not reasonable.
If the judge allows a Stand Your Ground hearing to go forward, the state will have to prove that Mateo was not justified in using deadly force.
The three other officers have not yet filed similar Stand Your Ground motions, but that could happen soon, one of their attorneys told NBC6.
