Authorities have made a break in the case of two children who were shot in Hialeah on Tuesday.
After a 6-year-old girl was shot, detectives said that three adults were responsible. They arrested a 50-year-old security guard and the girl’s 32-year-old mother, and are still searching for another man.
Leonardo Morales was working as a security guard on Tuesday at the Rey Chavez Distributor in Hialeah, when he suddenly saw a man running with about $200 in lobster tails.
Morales fired his weapon as the man got into a car and drove away.
Two girls were also in the getaway car.
A 6-year-old girl was shot in her right knee, while her 8-year-old sister suffered a cut in her right thigh after a window shattered, according to police.
Their mother, Angela, Pupo, arrived at a local hospital with both children still in their blood-stained clothes.
She told Miami-Dade Police Department officers they had been the victims of a drive-by shooting in Brownsville.
Officers said that Pupo blamed two Black men for the incident.
When officers were unable to find shell casings or witnesses of the alleged shooting, Pupo told them the shooting took place in Hialeah.
Detectives later discovered that the car which 32-year-old Pupo drove to the hospital had been involved in the theft at the market, which is located at 780 W 17th St.
Police have taken the Toyota Corolla as evidence.
Sadly, we are once again investigating a shooting that has left two innocent children wounded. This is unacceptable, we need the tips to come in so we can arrest those responsible and get the gun(s) used off our streets. Call 305-471-TIPS now, you can remain anonymous.
— Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez III (@MDPD_Director) July 28, 2020
Additionally, Hialeah Police detectives arrested and questioned Morales and Pupo on Tuesday.
They asked Morales why he decided to fire his weapon, and obtained a surveillance video of the shooting that corroborated his statement.
Detectives reported Morales “charged the firearm while in pursuit” of the alleged thief and “discharged one round into the vehicle as it fled eastbound on West 17th Street.”
They reported that Pupo knew about the plan to steal seafood from the market, and was supposed to earn about $30 after selling it.
Her criminal record in Miami-Dade County, which goes back to 2006, includes burglaries, robberies, and theft cases.
Pupo admitted to waiting in the car with the girls and “placing the victims in danger during the commission of a crime,” police added.
Detectives identified the man accused of stealing the lobster as Steadman Amaya. He is a convicted felon with a long criminal record in Miami-Dade County.
Miami-Dade corrections officers booked Morales and Pupo on Wednesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Detectives are now searching for 39-year-old Amaya, whose convictions include uttering forged bills, grand theft of a motor vehicle and burglary.
Meanwhile, Morales faces two counts of attempted manslaughter with a deadly weapon and one count of shooting a deadly missile, while Pupo is charged with two counts of child neglect and petit theft.