MIAMI LAKES, FLA. (WSVN) - A 47-year-old man was denied bond after he was arrested following a dispute in Miami Lakes that turned into a shooting.
Danny Michel Casavilla-Garcia is facing several charges, which include two counts of felony attempted murder.
After his court appearance on Tuesday, Casavilla-Garcia’s attorney claimed that Casavilla-Garcia fired his weapon in self-defense.
According to the arrest report, on Monday, Casavilla-Garcia was intoxicated at a parking lot at 15544 NW 77th Court, where he took pictures and videos with his cellphone of various vehicles, including the ones that belonged to the victims.
The victims then confronted Casavilla-Garcia and told him to stay away from their car.
Surveillance video captures Casavilla-Garcia lying down while the victims are talking to him.
The victims are then seen driving away and circling back to the parking lot and have another verbal confrontation with Casavilla-Garcia.
Video then captures a verbal dispute between the three when Casavilla-Garcia pulls out a gun and fires at the two victims.
“We have a 30-year-old male, with a single GSW in the rear, entered through the rear upper buttocks area, and exited through the abdomen,” said a dispatcher over Broadcastify police scanner.
One of the victims, Cedeno Alvarado was shot in his pelvis as he stood near the vehicle, while the other victim, Angulo Moreno, was sitting in the vehicle and was not injured.
While Moreno was not hurt, a bullet shattered the vehicle’s driver-side window and caused damage to the passenger rear door and window.
“They’re advising the victim is going to be at the Shell Gas station,” said a dispatcher over Broadcastify police scanner.
The arrest report states that Alvarado ran to a nearby gas station after he was shot and called 911 while he hid there. Meanwhile, Moreno drove off in the vehicle, called 911 and tried to find Alvarado.
Once police arrived at the scene, an officer located Alvarado inside the gas station.
He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Casavilla-Garcia, the report states, also called 911 and notified police about his location.
When officers found him, they held him at gunpoint and he was placed into handcuffs.
Following his arrest, police found a handgun that was in his back pocket.
During his interview with police, Casavilla-Garcia admitted that he had been drinking, fired his weapon and told investigators, “I’m not afraid of anyone.”
He was then charged and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The state attorney’s office argued in court against Casavilla-Garcia’s claims he acted in self-defense.
“The defendant may not have been doing anything illegal, but it was kind of concerning to the victims, so the victims could confront him and say, ‘Please get away from my car,” said a state attorney.
Casavilla-Garcia’s defense attorney, Scott Egelston, said the victims were harassing and making threats during the verbal dispute.
“From the report, that he was doing nothing illegal when he was approached in the the early morning hours,” said Scott Egelston, Defense Attorney. “They harassed him, that they we’re threatening him. It is also clear from the report as well that he called 911 and waited for the police to get there.”
Despite the judge finding probable cause for aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Egelston feels confident.
“We feel confident that we will prevail at the end of this case,” he said.
Egelston said Casavilla-Garcia is a veteran having served in the Navy for 14 years and then in the Marines for four years.
Casavilla-Garcia’s next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
As of Tuesday, Alvarado’s condition remains unknown.
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