2 family members dead in altercation in SW Miami-Dade; man arrested
MIAMI-DADE - Two family members died after an altercation led to a shooting Sunday night in Southwest Miami-Dade County, police confirmed Monday.
Police arrested Jose Garcia, 35, who is facing two charges of second-degree murder and is an inmate at the Miami-Dade County Jail.
The fatal victims were identified as Juan Miguel Menjivar, 53, and his nephew, Jose Wilian Gandamez, 40, both of Homestead.
CBS News Miami spoke to family members about their loses.
"My brother Juan Miguel and my nephew Jose Wilian were very good people," Glady, a sister and aunt of the victims, said. "Good fathers. They were both fathers, they were husbands, they were sons, they were brothers and were good citizens."
She added: "My family is completely destroyed."
And in another development from Sunday, a fourth person was involved in the altercation. That person fled the scene and was detained for questioning.
At approximately 5:10 p.m., officers with the agriculture and environmental crimes section units officers were dispatched to a plant nursery of a shooting in the 21400 block of Southwest 240th Street in Southwest Miami-Dade near Homestead.
Officers discovered two adult men with apparent gunshot wounds. They were both dead.
Originally Sunday night, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said one of the men was taken to an area hospital in critical condition.
According to the arrest report, a 911 caller identified the suspect as Garcia, who was taken into custody. Garcia told investigators he was driving a blue Ford Ranger on a dirt road within the nursery property. He had parked his truck behind the victims' white Ford F250, police said.
According to the arrest report, he brandished a firearm and then shot both victims standing near their vehicle.
Despite being shot, both victims attempted to run away from Garcia, "who proceeded to chase both victims while continuing to shoot at both of them," according to the arrest report.
During questioning in the police station, Garcia said that both victims approached his vehicle while they were each holding a beer bottle.
Garcia said one of the victims struck the hood of his vehicle with a beer bottle. "The defendant felt that bot victims were too close to his driver's side door, which was ajar," according to the report.
He then said he wanted to "execute them both ensuring they both were dead."
Police interviewed a witness who saw Garcia exiting his vehicle and shooting both men.
