A New York man was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in prison for stalking and planning the shooting of a famed auto designer back in 2019 in southwest Miami-Dade.
Jaime Serrano, 46, was 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 four years after the August 2019 shooting of Alex Vega, according to prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida.
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Serrano and his co-defendant, 27-year-old Julian Jimenez, flew from New York to Miami, where they rented a car and surveilled the victim at his Kendall 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.
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Vega survived, but he was hit three times and needed surgery to remove the projectiles from his body.
“Never did I expect anything like this to happen to me," Vega told NBC6 months after the shooting.
Vega runs The Auto Firm and has customized high-end cars for celebrities, including Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, singer Marc Anthony and rapper Rick Ross.
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Jimenez pled guilty to the same charges prior to trial.
