Three former Miami-Dade Police officers charged in a 2019 shootout with suspects that left a hijacked UPS driver and bystander dead in Miramar have been granted “Stand Your Ground” immunity.
Judge Ernest Kollra granted motions to dismiss the manslaughter charges against Richard Santiesteban, Leslie Lee and Rodolfo Mirabal, who’d claimed they acted in self-defense.
Kollra agreed, writing in his ruling granting the motion that “…the Court finds the facts and testimony support the application of immunity under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground’ law.”
“The Court finds that the State has not established by clear and convincing evidence that Defendant did not have a reasonable belief that his use of deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony,” the decisions read.
The Dec. 5, 2019 shootout killed Frank Ordonez, a UPS driver taken hostage by armed gunmen, and Richard Cutshaw, an innocent driver who sat idle at a red light along Miramar Parkway where police engaged the suspects.
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Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw
Police said the two suspects took Ordonez hostage after an armed robbery at a Coral Gables jewelry store and led authorities on a pursuit into Miramar before the shootout unfolded at the intersection.
A fourth officer involved in the shootout, Jose Mateo, was granted the same immunity last year. The Broward State Attorney’s Office appealed that decision and said they plan to appeal Kollra’s new rulings.
“Immunity from prosecution is not the same as a defense presented to a jury from this community,” the state attorney’s office said in a statement Monday. “It is our belief that Stand Your Ground immunity does not apply in matters involving innocent bystanders, like Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw, who presented no danger to officers. In this incident, two innocent men were killed, and the lives of numerous other innocent bystanders were endangered.”
