MIAMI (WSVN) - A Miami man was arrested after investigators said he staged a shooting and falsely claimed a masked intruder shot him in the foot in an attempt to conceal a stolen firearm, according to a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit.
Joel Morales-Saez, 46, faces charges including armed burglary, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence, dealing in stolen property and filing a false police report, according to an arrest affidavit.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies responded around 2:09 a.m. May 5 to a trailer near Northwest 81st Street after receiving a report of a man shot in the foot.
According to investigators, Morales-Saez told deputies an unknown masked person entered his trailer and shot him while he was washing dishes.
He was later transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment.
As detectives investigated the scene, they followed a blood trail from Morales-Saez’s trailer to a nearby residence.
Surveillance footage allegedly showed Morales-Saez arriving on a red bicycle, entering another trailer and throwing a bag inside before returning home, according to the affidavit.
Police said the homeowner told investigators the bag did not belong to her.
Inside, deputies found a Cobra handgun that records showed had been reported stolen in a previous Miami-Dade police case.
Detectives later interviewed Morales-Saez at the hospital, where he repeated his claim that he had been shot by a masked person and rode through the neighborhood seeking help before returning home, the report states.
Investigators said the evidence contradicted his account and led them to believe the shooting had been staged.
Morales-Saez has five prior felony convictions, including grand theft, tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Morales-Saez was later arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to the report.
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