FBI agents raided a pair of Doral auto body shops Friday morning, as the owner was arrested in connection with the 2019 murder attempt of a celebrity auto designer, NBC6 has learned.
The raid happened at the Doral Collision Center and Exclusive Motoring Worldwide on Northwest 97th Avenue, where a large group of FBI agents and police gathered.
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FBI officials confirmed they were "conducting court ordered law enforcement activity in the vicinity of this location" but gave no other information.
The owner of the businesses, Rolando Ramirez, later appeared before a federal judge to face charges related to the August 2019 shooting of Alex Vega.
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Ramirez, better known as Roly, is facing multiple charges including murder for hire conspiracy, records showed. Two other suspects, Rasheed Ali and Tamrat Mason, are also facing charges, records showed.
Ramirez's attorney, David Kubiliun, spoke about his arrest Friday afternoon.
"Roly's known about this investigation for over two years. He's been 100% cooperative, and he's proclaimed his innocence and we are looking to vigorously defend him on all these charges," Kubiliun said. "We are absolutely going to fight these charges. Again, he's proclaimed his innocence and were prepared to fight and have his day in court."
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Two other men, Jaime Serrano and Julian Jimenez, were previously arrested in connection with the planned killing of Vega, who runs The Auto Firm in Kendall and has customized high-end cars for celebrities, including Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, singer Marc Anthony and rapper Rick Ross.
Prosecutors said Serrano and Jimenez flew from New York to Miami, where they rented a car and surveilled the victim at his business and home to learn his daily routine, prosecutors said.
On Aug. 27, 2019, Vega was pulling up to his garage when Jimenez, wearing a mask and gloves, approached Vega's car and shot at him eight times, prosecutors said. Jimenez then ran back to a car, driven by Serrano, who then drove away.
Surveillance video captured the moments the shooter ran up to Vega's car and started firing.
Vega survived, but he was hit three times and needed surgery to remove the projectiles from his body.
Serrano was later found guilty of interstate stalking, conspiracy to use a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison last November.
Jimenez pled guilty to the same charges prior to trial.
The history between Vega and Ramirez goes back to 2011, when complaints were filed alleging that Vega, who was the owner of Exclusive Motoring, was a client of Ramirez’s Doral Collision Center.
One complaint claims Vega owed more than $92,000 worth of invoices to Ramirez’s business. The settlement agreed upon in 2013 said that Ramirez would assume Exclusive Motoring and add "Worldwide" to the title, and Vega would work for him.
An attorney for the Vega family’s attorney told NBC6 Friday that the family is extremely grateful to the FBI and United States Attorney’s Office for their dedication and hard work on the case.
