FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A judge is hearing the fourth day of arguments in the case of an officer involved in a shootout with armed robbers that left an innocent UPS delivery driver dead six years ago, with the officer citing Florida’s “stand your ground” law in his defense.
Broward Circuit Court Judge Ernest Kollra on Thursday listened to testimony from one of Jose Mateo’s colleagues about the Dec. 5, 2019 shootout, which took place near the congested intersection of Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road.
Prosecutors maintain that Jose Mateo, one of the four Miami-Dade Police officers indicted, should still stand trial for manslaughter. Defense attorneys claim the charge should be thrown out, citing Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
Sgt. Samantha Machado had served with the Miami-Dade Police Department, now the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, for 19 years when the confrontation happened. Taking the stand on Thursday, she said she had never trained for anything of that magnitude. She also defended the officers’ actions, saying that they knew that they were dealing with some dangerous suspects.
Kollra also heard dispatch audio from moments before shots rang out on the intersection where UPS driver Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw were killed along with the two suspects.
Machado said moments before that dispatch message was given, she was in pursuit of the suspects, who had taken Ordonez hostage inside his delivery truck.
Machado said she opened fire from an unmarked SUV when she spotted one of the suspects pointing a gun at her as she drove alongside the delivery truck in the northbound lanes of Interstate 75.
She told the Broward court that she was the one in charge at this moment in the pursuit.
“They hijacked the vehicle, had a hostage at gunpoint, so I don’t think that they’re necessarily going on a leisurely stroll,” said Machado of the suspects.
The pursuit came to an end near Flamingo Road in a barrage of bullets, with officers from multiple agencies surrounding the UPS truck and opening fire.
Mateo’s manslaughter charge stems from the death of Ordonez after, Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators said, the bullets that hit Ordonez were fired by each of the indicted officers.
Body camera video shown in court showed Mateo firing at the delivery truck’s passenger side, with one of his bullets hitting Ordonez.
An undercover officer also took the stand, appearing with a mask to protect his identity.
He told the court that law enforcement that day acted based on what they knew at the time: that they were dealing with suspected armed robbers holding a hostage.
Prosecutors are trying to prove that Mateo’s actions that day that led to the death of Ordonez were not an act of self-defense.
If Kollra agrees with the prosecution, then Mateo could be expected to go to trial sometime next month. If the judge determines Florida’s “stand your ground” law applies in this case, the manslaughter charge is likely to be dropped as early as next week.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.