17-year-old accused of shooting gang rival near Riverside Park in Miami now charged as adult

(Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation)

MIAMI — A 17-year-old who was arrested late last month after being accused of shooting another teenager in the leg near Miami’s Riverside Park is now being charged as an adult, court records show.

According to an arrest report from the Miami Police Department, Donald Eliam Centena, of Miami, was arrested Aug. 31 in connection with the shooting that occurred on June 14.

Online jail records show he was booked into the Metrowest Detention Center last Friday.

According to the arrest report, police responded at about 11:11 p.m. on June 14 to the area of 675 SW Third St. following a report of a teen who had been shot.

An officer found the victim and applied a tourniquet to his left leg, the report stated.

Police said the victim initially told officers he had been walking near Riverside Park with another teenage boy and two girls when two masked males approached him and said, “Yo, yo.”

He said he turned around and saw one of them holding a handgun equipped with a green laser. The victim began running before feeling his left leg getting hot, according to the report.

First responders from Miami Fire Rescue transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

Investigators recovered three 9 mm spent shell casings from the roadway in front of 660 SW Third St. and found a small amount of the victim’s blood in the roadway in front of 675 SW Third St., police said.

According to the report, during an interview at the hospital early the following morning, the victim told detectives he had spent the day at Bayside with his girlfriend, another victim and another girl before the group walked from Brickell to Riverside Park.

The victim said that while they were walking past Ada Merritt K-8 Center, two masked males yelled, “Yo, yo.”

He turned around, saw a firearm with a green laser and ran, according to the report. The victim said he heard about four gunshots before feeling a burning sensation in his left leg.

He then went into a nearby corner store and called his mother.

At the time, the victim told investigators he did not know who the two males were and believed they may have intended to rob him and the other victim for their clothing.

Police said surveillance video showed the two victims and two girls walking down the road at about 10:58 p.m. when Centena and another suspect ran toward them. According to the report, the video showed Centena opening fire.

According to the report, detectives interviewed the second victim a week later, who said two males approached the first victim and then began shooting at him.

After the first victim ran, Centena allegedly pointed the gun at the second victim and threatened him in Spanish, according to the report. Centena and the other suspect then ran away, police said.

Later that night, detectives interviewed the shooting victim again.

This time, the victim told investigators he wanted to be “more truthful” with them, the report stated.

According to the report, the victim said he had been affiliated with a gang called “Little Havana Taliban,” or “LHT,” and believed Centena was associated with a rival gang known as “APK.”

The victim said he had only seen Centena once before and that a friend later called and told him Centena was the person who shot at him.

On Aug. 31, detectives interviewed a witness who said she had spent the day with Centena, the second suspect and another female friend, authorities said.

The witness said that after she and her friend briefly went inside her home, they came back outside and saw Centena and the other suspect sprinting toward the rear of her apartment while wearing masks.

According to the report, the witness approached them and saw both males removing guns from their waistbands, unloading them and putting the ammunition into their pockets.

She said Centena then asked whether there were cameras in the area, and she told him there were cameras at the school.

The group later got into a white SUV, according to the report.

While inside the vehicle, the witness said she noticed the other suspect’s hand was bleeding and asked the two what they had done.

According to the arrest report, both responded, “We shot at them b****es,” and told her they shot the victim, who’s part of the LHT gang, in the leg.

Later that night, detectives showed the witness a sequential photo lineup.

Police said the witness identified Centena as the person who told her in Spanish, “I hit him with the bullet.”

According to the report, Centena was arrested on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor/unauthorized alien.

As of Tuesday morning, the Nicaraguan national remained jailed. Online jail records show that his bond had not yet been set.

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Amanda Batchelor

Amanda Batchelor

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