Friend of man shot during Miami robbery arrested on drug charges

Drugs, more than $5,000 in cash found in trunk of car, police say

MIAMI – A friend of a man who was shot Monday afternoon after their car broke down was arrested on drug charges, authorities said Tuesday.

According to an arrest report, Alejandro Sosa, 37, was found to be in possession of marijuana, heroin and drug paraphernalia.

Miami police said Sosa and two other friends had finished having lunch Monday afternoon at Philly Grub near Northwest First Avenue and Northwest 54th Street when they realized that their Mercedes-Benz wouldn’t start.

While waiting for AAA to replace the car's battery, two men dressed in dark clothing approached the group and pulled out a gun, police said.

Authorities said a struggle ensued and one of the friends, Andrew King, 32, was shot in the abdomen.

King, whose gun was stolen during the robbery, was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery.

Police set up a perimeter for hours looking for the men responsible for the shooting, but they were unable to catch them.

According to the arrest report, Sosa told officers that he wanted to retrieve some of his belongings from the Mercedes-Benz before it was towed from the scene.

When he was asked what he needed to retrieve, Sosa said: "My bag in the trunk, my wallet in the driver's seat and my firearm in the driver's side door compartment."

The officer spotted the bag in the trunk and asked Sosa whether there was anything in it that the officer should know about.

According to the arrest report, Sosa said he kept his "everyday cash" in the bag and "some weed."

Police said $5,130 was found in a blue bank deposit bag that had several folders labeled with different drug slang verbiage.

Police said they also found suspected marijuana in a large clear plastic bag, a small case of suspected marijuana, a syringe loaded with suspected heroin in a gold bag, two clear pill capsules that contained an unknown white substance, a dark amber wax of suspected marijuana, a brown pipe with suspected marijuana and a green top grinder.

Sosa was arrested on charges of possession of cannabis, possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.