MIAMI – The surgeon at Jackson Memorial Hospital who operated on Miami-Dade Police Detective John Saavedra, who was shot several times during a drug bust on Tuesday, talked about the officer's recovery on Thursday afternoon.
Dr. George Garcia, a trauma surgeon at Jackson Memorial Hospital, operated on Saavedra. He said based on the number of wounds, it appeared the detective was shot three times.
"We explore all the abdominal contents and make sure we identify all the injuries," said Dr. Garcia about the surgery. "He had two holes in his small intestine which we repaired and two holes in his bladder which we repaired."
The doctors said Saavedra could expect to be released from the hospital sometime next week, adding that he should make a complete recovery.
"He's doing good. He's in good spirits. He's up walking around," said Dr. Garcia. "We let him start having some liquid diet today, so he's doing very well."
Dr. Garcia also served as a war surgeon in Afghanistan.
Shooting suspect given no bond
Meantime, Luis Lazaro Estevanell made his first appearance in court on Tuesday. Estevanell faces several charges, including second-degree murder, trafficking marijuana, and possession of cocaine. He was given no bond on the second-degree murder charge.
The shooting happened at a house near SW 24th Street and 62nd Avenue about 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Police said Saavedra received a tip about people at the house who were operating a marijuana grow house.
When the narcotics unit and FBI agents arrived, detectives began speaking to a man when another man, identified by police as Gerardo Delgado, who was sitting in a car parked at the house, began shooting. That's when Saavedra, 34, was hit with several shots from a Colt .45 handgun. In turn, other detectives started shooting. Saavedra was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Miami-Dade police said Delgado was shot and killed while Estevanell was arrested.