MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A 22-year-old woman faced criminal charges on Tuesday in Miami-Dade County after deputies accused her of helping a 22-year-old man hide after a shooting in the Naranja neighborhood, records show.
Brian Laoz was on the run after wounding two victims on Feb. 17 in the area of Southwest 266th Street and 138th Avenue when Leah Santos picked him up, according to a deputy’s arrest report.
On Feb. 23, Santos told Miami-Dade deputies that Laoz was her boyfriend, according to a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy’s arrest report.
“She picked up [Laoz] the following morning after the shooting from a residence” and “traveled to a smoke shop to buy marijuana and rolling papers,” a deputy wrote, according to the report.
Santos also told deputies that she went home to the Three Lakes neighborhood to get bandages to help Laoz with his injured foot, they “went to a restaurant to get food,” and “she purchased a short-term rental,” according to the arrest report.
Santos said her parents called her to tell her that detectives were looking for her, so she left the Airbnb short-term rental in Kendall, and she drove back home to the Three Lakes neighborhood to meet with a detective, according to the report.
Santos “provided a false statement that she had not seen [Laoz] for a while and that they had previously ended their relationship” and “returned to the Airbnb where [Laoz] was,” according to the report.
Santos later convinced Laoz “to turn himself in” on Feb. 19, and after he did, they continued to communicate while he was behind bars, according to the report. Detectives reported listening to their jail calls on Feb. 22 and Feb. 25.
Laoz, who had told deputies the Feb. 17 shooting had been in self-defense, allegedly gave Santos tasks during the calls — including buying firearms parts for him, according to the report.
Deputies searched Santos’s home on Tuesday in the Three Lakes neighborhood and arrested her there at 5:30 p.m., according to the report.
Miami-Dade corrections booked Santos shortly after 9:10 p.m. on Tuesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.
Santos faced charges of accessory after the fact, tampering with physical evidence, and knowingly providing false information to law enforcement during an investigation.
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