SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A 25-year-old man who was taken into custody following a deputy-involved shooting in Southwest Miami-Dade that left his younger brother dead is facing a slew of child pornography charges, authorities said, leaving the siblings’ family torn between tragedy and troubling allegations.
Cristian Barata was charged with 15 counts of possession of child porn and 10 counts of attempting to promote or distribute child porn.
His charges come a day after Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies surrounded their home, located in the area of Southwest 155th Street and 102nd Place in the Palmetto Estates neighborhood.
Surveillance video shows the moment MDSO’s Special Response Team served a search warrant, at around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Deputies could be seen banging on the front fence with a sledgehammer and calling out commands over a loudspeaker.
“Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office serving a warrant … put your hands up,” said a deputy over the loudspeaker.
A woman, a child and a man were escorted outside moments later.
Cristian and Christopher’s stepfather, Israel Lopez, said he awoke to the loud noises.
“I heard ‘bam bam’ on the fence, when I realized the SWAT team was around the house,” he said.
Within minutes, Cristian’s brother, identified by family members as 21-year-old Christopher Barata, was dead, and Cristian was placed in handcuffs and taken into custody.
“My wife is devastated. She has no [children] right now. One is in jail, one is dead,” said Lopez.
According to Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, deputies made contact with Christopher once inside the house, and he refused commands to drop a gun.
“A subject, armed, came to the door and confronted our deputies. Our deputies fired their service weapon,” said Cordero-Stutz.
Deputies said they performed lifesaving measures, but Christopher died at the home.
The siblings’ mother, overcome with grief, spoke with 7News in Spanish outside the home.
“They killed my son, they killed him,” she said.
Inside the home, at least three bullet holes marked where the gunfire erupted.
Investigators said the search warrant was not related to Christopher but part of a years-long investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit that was focused on Cristian. The suspect is now facing over two dozen sex offenses involving children.
“[This] included trading in this type of pornography and sexual abuse, as well as watching,” said Cordero-Stutz.
The brothers’ family members said they don’t believe the allegations and called for transparency, including the release of body camera video from the shooting.
“We want the proof, you know, we say no, we don’t believe it,” said Lopez.
However, the arrest report states Cristian confessed to the crimes.
The suspect and his brother worked as Transportation Security Administration agents.
The TSA released a statement, announcing Cristian was removed from his position:
“The Transportation Security Administration has no tolerance for criminal behavior or misconduct on- or off-duty. The TSA employee involved has had his access to all secure areas of the airport immediately revoked and has been removed from all duties, pending the outcome of the case. TSA is fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.”
In court Wednesday, a judge found probable cause and set Cristian’s bond at $87,500. It remains unclear whether Christopher had any involvement in these allegations.
Because this was a deputy-involved shooting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over part of the investigation.
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