HIALEAH, Fla. – When Alejandro Javier Garcia, 32, grabbed a brick and threw it at a Hialeah home's acrylic window, an armed teenager said that when it bounced off, the noise alerted him to an intruder.
Robert Cardenas, 19, grabbed a friend's gun and fatally shot Garcia Thursday night, according to the Hialeah Police Department.
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"Cardenas, in fear of his safety, exited his home armed with a firearm and upon being confronted by decedent Garcia with his face and head concealed and armed with a brick, shot decedent Garcia one time, in self-defense," Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez said.
Cardenas later told police officers that he didn't live at the house at 2603 W. 60 Place, but said that he would frequent it regularly to smoke marijuana. Officers searched the house Friday and said they found two guns, oxycodone, marijuana and codeine.
Garcia wasn't alone when he pulled up to the house in a car. Detectives said he was with Luis Ayala, 44, who used his foot to nudge the brick away from Garcia's body and took the car keys.
Fire Rescue personnel took Garcia to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center where doctors pronounced him dead.
Detectives believe Garcia died while trying to avenge a previous robbery. Cardenas faces charges of possession of cannabis with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia. Rodriguez said Cardenas won't be facing criminal charges for killing Garcia.