MIAMI, Fla. – The man accused of a fatal shooting in a Little Havana neighborhood appeared in bond court Friday.
Pablo Mena-Valdesm, 61, of Miami was arrested Wednesday in an early morning shooting Tuesday that left a man in his 30s dead from a gunshot wound to his chest.
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According to detectives, it was a tipster who alerted them to the shooter telling police that the suspect lived across the street from where the shooting took place. After conducting a search warrant inside the home, detectives found the same rare ammunition that was used in the shooting, according to a report.
In court on Friday, a judge suggested that Mena Valdes’ second-degree murder charge be raised to a first-degree murder charge.
According to Officer Kiara Delva, a department spokesperson, officers responded to the area of Southwest 12th Court and Eighth Street around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday after receiving a ShotSpotter alert.
She said officers found a man in his late 30s with a gunshot wound.
Detectives received a call the day after the shooting saying that the tipster knew of an ongoing feud between Mena-Valdes and the victim. Miami detectives were also able to link the car that was seen on surveillance video as belonging to Mena-Valdes.
According to police, video footage of the incident showed the man — allegedly Mena-Valdes — getting out of a dark-colored four-door sedan and pointing what looked like a “long-length barrel revolver” at the victim. According to the report, the victim retrieved a skateboard as a shield for protection and hit the suspect as he shot the victim. The suspect then got into an older model 4-door Honda that appeared to have damage on the driver’s side door.
When detectives showed up at Mena-Valdes’ door, they found the vehicle parked in the driveway with damage on the door and fitting the car’s description. Mena-Valdes was subsequently stopped by police and arrested for driving with a suspended license. However, he also fit the description of the “light-skinned bald male” seen in the surveillance footage at the murder scene and had fresh lacerations on his arm consistent with what would have been a struggle with the victim.
Detectives retrieved Mena-Valdes’ cell phone and noted that “heated” text exchanges between the victim and the suspect. After obtaining a search warrant, detectives found the rare ammunition inside Mena Valdes’ home matched the same rare ammo removed from the victim. And also a speed loader exclusively used with revolvers, according to police.
The victim, who had been shot in the chest, died at the scene. Police identified the victim as 30-year-old Eloy Bravo Jimenez.
Mena-Valdes is being held with no bond. The first-degree murder charge was suggested because the suspect went to the location with an “intent to kill the victim,” a judge noted.