4 FL Officers Indicted On Manslaughter Charges In Fatal Shootout

BROWARD COUNTY, FL — Four Florida police officers were recently indicted in connection with the 2019 shooting deaths of a kidnapped UPS truck driver and another driver in Miramar, prosecutors said Saturday.

The Broward County District Attorney's Office said Saturday that indictments of manslaughter with a firearm were returned June 6 against current and former Miami-Dade County officers Rodolfo Mirabal, Jose Mateo, Richard Santiesteban and Leslie Lee.

Mirabal was indicted on suspicion of one count of manslaughter after being accused of killing kidnapped UPS driver Frank Ordonez, 27, and driver Richard Cutshaw, 70, on Dec. 5, 2019, at the Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road intersection, the district attorney's office said.

The three remaining officers were indicted in connection with Ordonez's death, the district attorney's office said.

The quartet surrendered Friday and Saturday to the Broward County main jail and were released on their own recognizance per a judge's court order, prosecutors said.

The district attorney's office said the maximum possible penalty for a conviction on the charge of manslaughter with a firearm under Florida law is up to 30 years in state prison, although a first-time offender could face a significantly lesser penalty.

The shooting happened at the South Florida intersection when police were chasing suspected truck thieves, the Associated Press reported at the time.

Officers were responding around 4 p.m. in Coral Gables to a silent alarm at a jewelry store about 5 miles west of Miami, the news outlet reported. Two suspects were inside of the store, and shots were being fire when officers arrived, the outlet reported, citing Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak.

The suspects were accused of fleeing in a truck, then carjacking a UPS delivery truck and its driver, and leading a chase into southern Broward County. While stopped behind traffic, officers with drawn guns began approaching the truck when shots were fired, the Associated Press reported.

"News helicopters were following the chase and at least one showed the conclusion live, with one person falling out of the vehicle’s passenger side after several shots were fired. It was unclear if the shots were fired from inside the truck, from law enforcement who were moving in or some combination thereof. The fourth victim, in another car at the intersection, was 'an innocent bystander,' the Associated Press reported, citing authorities.

UPS spokesman David Graves released this statement: “We are deeply saddened to learn a UPS service provider was a victim of this senseless act of violence. We extend our condolences to the family and friends of our employee and the other innocent victims involved in this incident.”

A Broward County grand jury spent several months hearing testimony before returning indictments against the officers, the district attorney's office said.

“Deciding whether to use deadly force is among the most serious and consequential decisions a police officer can make. We understand that these decisions are often made during intense and uncertain circumstances. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an extensive investigation of the officers involved in the shootings and their circumstances," Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor said in a news release.

"Given the enormity of the gunfire in this incident at an extremely busy intersection packed with civilian motorists and pedestrians, we presented these agencies’ findings to the grand jury. Although the process has taken a long time, we feel the grand jury was necessary to ensure we get answers for the victims’ families and the community. All of this was done with the mindset of pursuing justice. The indictment speaks for itself, and any further comments we have will be through the court process, as is our standing policy.”

Hearing dates have not been announced.