2 former officers for Hialeah police granted bond in alleged beating of homeless man
MIAMI -- A judge on Friday agreed to grant bail for two former officers with the Hialeah Police Department accused of beating a homeless man and then participating in an effort to hide the incident.
Judge Robert Watson presided over five days of hearings before agreeing to release Rafael Otano, 27, if he can post a $10,000 bond, and Lorenzo Rafael Orfila, 22, if he can post a $20,000 bond.
The judge stipulated that Otano, who had been with the department for six years, be placed under standard house arrest and Orfila, a three-year member at the agency, placed under total lockdown house arrest.
After they were initially arrested and fired from the department on Jan. 26, bond for the pair was denied.
Otano and Orfila have both been charged with armed kidnapping and battery. Orfila also faces a charge of official misconduct.
The charges filed against the officers stem from an incident last Dec. 17 when they responded to a call from a business at Los Tres Conejitos Bakery at 1912 W. 16th St. about a disorderly homeless man who was known to frequent the area, according to state prosecutors.
When the officers arrived, they found Jose Ortega Gutierrez and placed him in handcuffs and drove him from the scene, officials have said.
State prosecutors have said the man was driven to a remote location several miles away where he was allegedly beaten and thrown to the ground by the officers.
The man later told investigators that he was left there, unconscious and unhandcuffed. He began walking and was spotted by an off-duty Hialeah police officer who was walking his dog. That officer called 911.
Prosecutors have said they were unable to find any violations that justified an arrest of Gutierre, who filed a police report detailing what happened during the encounter.
Some 12 days into the investigation, detectives learned that a civilian had approached the victim and offered him $1,200 to recant his original statement. The victim later told detectives that he took the money "because he's homeless and he's unemployed" and said that his original statement was correct
The civilian was charged with witness tampering.