Two Men Arrested After Cop Shot During West Miami Drug Bust

WEST MIAMI, FL — Two men have been arrested after a Miami-Dade police officer was shot and wounded during a drug bust in West Miami, the Miami-Dade Police Department said in a news release Thursday.

Julio Juan Garcia, 23, was arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, a felony. Nicolas Segrera, 21, was arrested and charged with trafficking LSD.

An undercover operation led Miami-Dade’s narcotics bureau, working with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, to Soleste West Gables II, an apartment complex at the intersection of SW 67th Avenue and SW 20th Street on Tuesday night. Segrera was arrested in the building’s parking garage around 6:43 p.m.

Detectives were shot at as they approached an apartment in the building to detain additional suspects and returned fire. Detective Christopher Fernandez was shot in the ear. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition, treated and released.

Miami-Dade called in its Special Response Team, as well as hostage negotiators, for assistance. Garcia, the shooter, remained in the apartment for several hours before surrendering. He was taken into custody and brought to the Ryder Trauma Center to be treated for a gunshot wound. He was arrested Wednesday at about 4:25 p.m.

Four suspects were taken into custody as part of the investigation, though Garcia and Segrera were the only ones charged. Police continue to investigate.