Man charged in deadly stabbing that left man bleeding outside Downtown Miami restaurant
An arrest has been made in a fatal stabbing that happened outside of a Downtown Miami restaurant last month.
On Saturday evening, the City of Miami Police announced they had arrested 59-year-old Luis Acosta-Barbon and charged him with second-degree murder.
In a bond court hearing earlier in the day, the judge found probable cause in the case and ordered that Acosta-Barbon be held without bond.
The stabbing
On the afternoon of Feb. 5, Miami Police and Fire Rescue was called out to El Cacique Lunch Restaurant at 112 W. Flagler St. regarding reports of a man who had been stabbed. Upon arrival, they found a man bleeding on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. He was then taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition. Despite life-saving efforts, the man died from his injuries.
Hours later, Miami Police called the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, which provided surveillance video from the scene that showed a possible suspect traveling toward the crime scene, according to arrest documents obtained by CBS News Miami.
After speaking with several witnesses, police determined that the suspect — later identified as Acosta-Barbon — and the man had been involved in a physical altercation over money that the man had allegedly owed Acosta-Barbon, according to arrest documents.
The following day, the medical examiner concluded that the man's cause of death was a stab wound to the torso and deemed his death a homicide.
On Feb. 18, a CrimeStoppers tip identified a possible suspect and after reviewing his phone records, Miami Police had found he had received calls from two numbers associated with a person named "Luis" — and one of those numbers was registered to Acosta-Barbon, the arrest documents said.
On Feb. 25, a person who knew the man came forward with information about the stabbing, where he told police that a week prior, the man had allegedly mentioned owing money to someone named "Flaco," the arrest documents said. Hours later, detectives conducted a photographic line-up to the witness, who positively identified Acosta-Barbon.
On Thursday, an anonymous tip informed homicide detectives that Acosta-Barbon was cited for a traffic violation while riding an electric scooter in the Allapattah area before being taken into custody.
At the homicide office, police interviewed Acosta-Barbon after he agreed to speak voluntarily. According to the arrest documents, after being read his Miranda rights and agreeing to speak without legal counsel present, he denied knowing the man. After being shown a series of photos taken from surveillance video that placed him at the scene, he was taken into custody without incident.
Miami Police said the investigation remains active.
