Five years after a South Florida UPS driver was killed during a robbery that turned into a cross-county chase and shooting, his family gathered Thursday to hold a candlelight vigil for him. NBC6’s Niko Clemmons reports
Five years after a South Florida UPS driver was killed during a robbery that turned into a cross-county chase and shooting, his family gathered Thursday to hold a candlelight vigil for him.
Frank Ordonez's family described him as intelligent, had a sense of humor, and someone who wanted to make you smile. Most of all, he loved his family and his daughters.
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“His life revolved around his girls,” Ordonez’s stepfather Joe Merino said. “We don't forget him, he's still with us.”
For the last five years, his family has returned to the area where he was killed, with flowers and candles to remember his life and keep his story alive.
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“It hurts, it's every day, every day the pain is there,” Ordonez’s mother Lucy Apolinario said.
On Dec. 5, 2019, two convicted felons held up a Coral Gables jewelry store. Video you saw first on NBC6 shows those felons hijacking a UPS truck, threatening to kill Ordonez, who was the driver.
The kidnappers led police on a chase that ended on Miramar Parkway and South Flamingo Road in a shootout.
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An FDLE investigation found 20 police officers from four agencies shot up to 221 rounds in 25 seconds, including four Miami-Dade officers who were indicted in June on manslaughter charges in the deaths of Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw, an innocent driver.
Attorneys for two of the officers say the bodycam shows the officers were justified in shooting the kidnappers, even though Ordonez and Cutshaw were also killed.
If convicted, the four officers face up to 30 years in prison.
Ordonez's stepfather says his opinion hasn't changed.
“Mistakes were made,” Merino said. “Hopefully in these five years, all police departments will have updated their training and got better.”
Five years later, Ordonez's family still wants one thing.
“If they're found guilty and they have a jail sentence, then we can use the word justice,” Merino said. “In the meantime, justice is reserved.”
“That day mistakes were made, a lot of mistakes, a lot of negligence and we lost Frank,” Merino said. “Those 20 officers went home that night. Frank never made it home to his girls.”
