MIAMI — Two men were arrested in connection with a shooting last month in Liberty City after Miami police said one allegedly handed a gun to the other during a street fight, moments before the man opened fire and a bullet struck the garage door of a nearby home.
Police said the shooting happened just after midnight Aug. 21 in the 700 block Northwest 53rd Street. Police said they found six shell casings on the ground and discovered a bullet had struck a nearby home, going through the garage door. They said no one inside the home was hurt.
According to police, the shooting followed a planned fight between two groups of young women. People began arriving by car, and the confrontation grew into a larger fight involving several people, police said.
According to an arrest report, one woman who was at the scene told police she saw Charles Denis Jr., 22, holding a small black handgun during the fight.
She said Denis also hit another woman in the head and arm with a golf club, the report states.
The woman told investigators that the co-defendant, identified as 37-year-old Taji Cozart Thrasher, then told Denis, “Give me the gun. I’m going to shoot that s--t,” according to Denis’ arrest report.
The report states that Denis removed the gun from his pocket and handed it to Cozart Thrasher.
Cozart Thrasher then shot the gun once toward the ground in the direction of the woman before she fled on foot, according to the report.
About four seconds later, the woman told police that she saw Cozart Thrasher chasing after her as he fired about four more shots.
Denis and Cozart Thrasher then fled the scene on foot, heading northbound on Northwest Seventh Court, according to the arrest report.
A second woman told police she arrived at the scene after her daughter called saying she was going to fight. She said she witnessed the shooting before leaving the area, police said.
Authorities said a witness at the scene identified both Denis and Cozart Thrasher from a photo shown to her by police. She told investigators she had known Denis for most of her life.
The report states that Denis was brought in for questioning after his arrest Tuesday. Police said he denied having a gun or giving one to Cozart Thrasher.
Jail records show he is facing one count each of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm in public, improperly exhibiting a weapon, shooting or throwing a deadly missile and being an accessory after the fact.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Denis was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”
Cozart Thrasher had not yet been listed on the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation website as of Wednesday afternoon, and his charges had not yet been released.
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