MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — The family of a UPS driver killed during a 2019 police shootout returned to the courtroom Wednesday as prosecutors and defense attorneys presented a mix of testimony and evidence about the chaotic gun battle that left four people dead.
Jurors revisited the events of Dec. 5, 2019, when an armed robbery at a Coral Gables jewelry store led to a hijacking and a high-speed chase that ended with police exchanging gunfire with two suspects on Miramar Parkway.
UPS driver Frank Ordonez, 27, who had been taken hostage inside his delivery truck, was killed in the crossfire along with bystander Rick Cutshaw.
Prosecutors showed photographs of bullet-riddled vehicles from the scene, including the UPS truck struck 72 times.
An FBI forensic examiner testified that, based on his review, none of the bullets appeared to have originated from inside the truck. He added that shots fired through the shattered windshield could not be definitively traced.
“They originated from the driver’s side rear of the vehicle,” the examiner said.
Defense attorneys pressed the forensic specialist on whether so many rounds hitting the cab could have created smoke inside.
“It’s possible,” FBI forensic specialist Bryce Ziegler said.
A driver caught in traffic near the scene told jurors he believed the suspects fired first.
“When I heard things happen, I realized I was in a dangerous situation,” the witness said. “I did see them fire first, the people in the UPS truck.”
Prosecutors challenged that account, arguing the witness’s position in traffic made it unlikely he had a clear view.
Another witness, Felicia Barrera, testified she saw shots fired from the UPS truck.“From what I remember it was a few, maybe two or three,” she said. “Definitely less than five.”
Barrera also said she thought she smelled gunpowder, though prosecutors questioned whether that was possible given her location.
Joe Merino, Ordonez’s stepfather, cast doubt on her account.
“It is really difficult, when she is that far back, to determine the gun powder and it is hard to smell that far,” Merino said.
The defense also called Liliana Sardi, a Coral Gables jewelry store employee, who described the armed robbery that sparked the chain of events.
Sardi testified that one of the gunmen entered disguised as a FedEx courier.
“He was carrying FedEx boxes and he threw them to the floor,” she said. “Then I saw a gun and he pointed and he fired.”
Sardi said the bullet grazed her neck and required surgery.“I’ve been robbed before in South America, but this was different,” she said. “I was hurt, I was bleeding and this guy was crazy, walking back and forth.”
Jose Mateo, one of the suspended law enforcement officers who opened fire during the shootout, is seeking to have a manslaughter charge dismissed under Florida’s stand your ground law.
His attorneys argue the suspects, Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Hill, fired first at officers. Both men were killed during the standoff.
The hearing is expected to continue Thursday. Prosecutors plan to call as many as 25 witnesses before the judge rules on whether the case will proceed to trial.
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