More than four months after he was shot and left to die in a burning Miami apartment building, Feder Biotte says his life has been turned upside down.
On June 10, the Temple Court Apartments went up in flames, leaving more than 40 seniors homeless.
Before the fire was called in, the 31-year-old maintenance worker had just started work when police say 73-year-old Juan Francisco Figueroa shot Biotte and left the scene.
“I raised my head and saw the man,” Biotte said. “He shot me and I fell down and then he shot me again…that went through my neck.”
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
Biotte’s attorney says he “played dead” after the shooting, hoping the gunman would stop.
“I always go into his house to work. Many times, I have fixed the air conditioning and the stove, and I never had a problem with him. I don't know why he did that,” Biotte said.
Even though Biotte was shot in the stomach and his neck, he says crawled to his cellphone to call police and tried to seek help from his residents.
“I saw a man I know who lives in the building, I asked him for help and told him that the man from 307 shot me, but I don't know his name. I walked a little and lost consciousness until I got to the hospital,” Biotte said.
He was put into a medically induced coma and remained in the hospital for more than a month.
His family in Haiti, including his 9-year-old son, prayed for his recovery.
Although Figueroa is facing attempted murder charges, the State Attorney’s Office dropped the arson charge and another gun charge citing “insufficient evidence.”
Biotte’s attorney, Roman Guillen of Dream Team Law in Coral Gables, believes the building shouldn’t have been demolished until all evidence was collected.
“If they didn’t have enough evidence to maintain that charge, maybe they should have told the city of Miami police department or fire department not to destroy it,” Guillen said.
Guillen says his client has more than $500,000 in medical bills that worker’s compensation hasn’t paid. On top of that, Biotte is without a job and car. Still, his family is dependent on him. A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist him but as of Wednesday, it has only raised a few hundred dollars.
“I am in this situation where I cannot go to work and that affects me a lot,” Biotte said. “I am not a man to live like this. I want to work to recover everything I have lost, and my family is suffering because of it.”
Figueroa remains in the Miami-Dade County jail, awaiting his next court hearing in November.
