BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — Two men testified on Friday in Broward County court about what it was like to get caught in the middle of a 2019 standoff and shootout that involved 20 law enforcement officers from four agencies -- who fired over 220 rounds in about 25 seconds.
Edwin Diaz and Manuel Tosado were among the witnesses of a pre-trial hearing in the manslaughter case against Jose Mateo, a suspended Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office deputy who fired his weapon during the fatal shooting on Dec. 5, 2019, in Miramar.
Tosado, a U.S. Army veteran, said he was armed with a Glock while in his pickup truck on Miramar Parkway, but he did not fire. Two bullets struck his truck. One damaged his taillight, and the other pierced his daughter’s car seat. She was 5 years old at the time.
“She wasn’t in the truck, but technically she was supposed to be sitting in the back seat,” Tosado said in court.
Two armed fugitives -- who were wanted for a jewelry heist in Coral Gables -- were in a stolen UPS truck with a hostage on the westbound lanes of Miramar Parkway, according to prosecutors. Tosado recorded a video showing that he had a clear view of the UPS truck in his rearview mirror.
Frank Ordóñez, the hostage who was working for UPS in Miami-Dade County when the armed duo kidnapped him to try to get away from police in his assigned UPS truck, did not survive the shootout, according to prosecutors.
“I want the police to be held accountable for the innocent lives lost,” said Roy Ordóñez, who listened in grief to the testimony about the day when his 27-year-old brother, the father of his nieces, was killed.
Frank Ordóñez’s daughters were ages 3 and 5 when he died. Ordóñez’s mother, Luz Apolinario, was also in the courtroom. She clutched a round pendant in her hand. It had a picture of her slain son’s face and hung from a necklace near her heart.
“It has been very difficult ... It’s necessary for me and my family to show support for Frank,” Roy Ordóñez said.
After an investigation involving the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a grand jury indicted Mateo and three other M-DCSO deputies: Rodolfo Mirabal, Richard Santiesteban, and Leslie Lee.
Broward County Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra is presiding over Mateo’s case. Mateo’s attorneys want Kollra to consider that the Florida self-defense law allowed his use of deadly force despite the risks.
Investigators found that the bullets that struck Frank Ordóñez were from law enforcement, records show.
Richard Cutshaw, a driver who was on his way home from work, died after he was shot in his car. He was 70.
The suspects, Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Hill, also died during the shootout. They were both 41.
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