A Hialeah man was officially charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Cuban reggaeton star El Taiger and was booked into Miami-Dade jail Wednesday, police said.
Damian Valdez-Galloso, 49, was taken into custody in New York City last week by Miami Police working with the NYPD and the U.S. Marshals Service.
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He was held on an out-of-state extradition warrant for violations connected to failure to register as a sex offender before he was extradited to South Florida. He now faces charges of second-degree murder with a weapon, tampering with physical evidence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Miami-Dade Police said.
Valdez-Galloso remained booked into Miami-Dade's Turner Gilford Knight Correctional Center.
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Police had announced earlier this month that Valdez-Galloso was being sought for questioning in the shooting of the singer.
“Thankful to God they were able to locate him,” El Taiger's manager and friend, Teresa Padron, said. “We can put this to rest once and for all and hopefully police can release the video so we can understand what happened that night.”
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The 37-year-old El Taiger, whose real name was Jose Manuel Carbajal Zaldivar, had been found unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound in the back of an SUV near Northwest 9th Avenue and 17th Street back on Oct. 3.
He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in extremely critical condition and died from his injuries days later, on Oct. 10.
According to an arrest affidavit, the singer went to Valdez-Galloso's home early that morning. Valdez-Galloso opened the door and shot El Taiger in the head, police said.
Valdez-Galloso then grabbed El Taiger by his ankles, dragged him toward the singer's SUV, and placed him inside, the affidavit said. Valdez-Galloso then allegedly cleaned up the scene, changed his clothes, and then left in the singer's vehicle.
No other suspects are being sought in the shooting, police said.
Records show Valdez-Galloso has a criminal past and is a registered sex offender after having sex with a minor. He also served prison time for false imprisonment and was arrested three years ago for grand theft in Broward.
