NBC6 is learning more about the four Miami-Dade police officers involved in the deadly 2019 hijacking of a UPS truck that ended with a shootout between robbers and police that killed two innocent victims. Chris Hush reports
NBC6 is learning more about the four Miami-Dade officers involved in the deadly 2019 hijacking of a UPS truck that ended with a shootout between robbers and police that killed two innocent victims.
Only two of the officers remain on the police force. According to the union representing them, officers Rodolfo Mirabal and Jose Mateo are still active. Officer Leslie Lee retired in 2021, and Officer Richard Santiesteban was terminated in June 2024.
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Questions remain about the circumstances surrounding Santiesteban's firing, but NBC6 discovered an injunction initially filed by his ex-wife in 2020.
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NBC6 also uncovered records showing Santiesteban was arrested in January 2021 on two counts of felony sudden snatching related to a domestic violence incident. Those charges were reduced to misdemeanors, and after completing a pretrial intervention program, they were dropped.
His current attorney declined to comment.
Last week, a grand jury charged the four officers with manslaughter related to the 2019 incident where two jewelry store robbers hijacked a UPS truck and shot at police as they led them on a chase from Miami-Dade to Broward County.
It came to a deadly end at a Miramar intersection when a shootout between the suspects and police killed the 27-year-old UPS driver, Frank Ordonez, and 70-year-old bystander Rick Cutshaw.
All four officers turned themselves in and were released on their own recognizance.
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For the manslaughter charges to stand, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the death of the victim was caused by culpable negligence of the defendant.
Evidence would have to show “reckless disregard of human life or a grossly careless disregard for the safety and welfare of the public…," including, “…consciously following a course of conduct that the defendant must have known, or reasonably should have known, was likely to cause death…”
Over the weekend, the union representing the officers blasted the Broward State Attorney’s Office for indicting the officers.
The SAO released a statement saying in part, “…the indictment speaks for itself.”
Attorneys representing the officers told NBC6 they are not ready to comment on the matter.
The Miami-Dade Police Department also declined to comment on the case.
