2 Killed, 1 Injured Over Miami Beach Parking Spot

MIAMI BEACH, FL — A male suspect who was shot by Miami Beach police on Sunday night in the 600 block of Alton Road has died. The suspect was taken to Ryder Trauma Center of Jackson Memorial Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Police converged on the suspect and three other men in a white BMW with New York tags after the vehicle was spotted fleeing the scene of an earlier shooting incident in which two Miami-Dade men were apparently gunned down over a parking spot. One of the men later died.

"We now know that it started with a dispute over a parking space," Miami Beach Police Chief Daniel Oates acknowledged in a press conference on Monday. "There was a report of two or three shots fired called into 9-1-1." (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Beach Patch.)

Police said that all three of the other occupants in the BMW were taken into custody but one managed to elude police on foot for about 75 minutes before being captured by a K-9 unit. Traffic was disrupted around South Beach during a manhunt for the suspect, including along the busy eastbound lanes of MacArthur Causeway. Motorists were told to use I-195 or the Venetian Bridge as an alternative.

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Nineteen-year-old Jeffery Alexander of the 1800 block of Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn was later charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and attempted second-degree murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the first shooting. The other occupants of the BMW were subsequently released.

Alexander is an up-and-coming rapper who goes by the names "22Gz," "Tutu Blicky" and "Tutu Blixcky." Alexander has denied the story Miami Beach cops are telling about that night. "Don't let that news sh*t fool you — I'm innocent," he said in a phone call from Miami-Dade County jail, recorded by his friends and aired Monday on Facebook Live.

"I'll be home soon," the young rapper promised. His friends and fans have since been calling for him to be freed on social media.

According to arrest documents, the altercation began when the driver of the BMW attempted to force his way into a parking spot on Ocean Drive as the victims saw their gold Buick Regal being repeatedly struck.

"While backing into the space, the BMW struck the Buick a couple more times in an attempt to park into the parking space," the documents stated. "When the BMW could not fit into the space, the BMW began force pushing the Buick back in an attempt to move the Buick."

The two victims approached the driver of the BMW and asked how many more times he planned to hit the Buick, which resulted in a verbal altercation. The driver could be seen passing a handgun to a passenger in the front seat.

"The defendant pointed the firearm and discharged two to three rounds in the direction of victims from the BMW as the BMW was driving away from the parking space," arrest documents stated.

One of the victims was shot in the leg while 30-year-old Ladarian Phillips of Homestead was shot in the back and later died from his wound. Police did not identify the other victim.

Prior to the shootings, Miami Beach police had said that arrests were down during this year's Urban Beach Week, a free-flowing hip-hop festival that stretches over Memorial Day weekend. The event typically coincides with a spike in police incidents and arrests and has been a source of concern to city officials for years. This year, the city sponsored competing events on the same weekend, including the first Miami Beach Air and Sea show that attracted large crowds on both Saturday and Sunday.

Miami Beach Commissioners Ricky Arriola and Mike Grieco attended Monday's press conference regarding the shooting incidents and Grieco vowed to end the unsanctioned Urban Beach Week tradition.

"Urban Beach weekend is a thing of the past," Grieco, who is running for mayor, told reporters. "After 17 years of trying to handle this and trying to measure success by the number of arrests or by the lack of shootings is something that we are no longer going to tolerate."

Brooklyn Supreme Court records show Alexander is currently facing felony charges in his home county as well, for "conspiracy" to commit murder in 2014. (Although he wasn't arrested until winter 2015.)

The local indictment against Alexander alleges he was a member of a Flatbush gang called the "Young Savages." The crew was comprised of "a group of younger individuals associated with another criminal street gang called the '6-Trey Gangsta Disciple,' which operated and resided primarily between the vicinity of Hawthorne Street to Lenox Road and Flatbush Avenue to Nostrand Avenue," according to the indictment.
Alexander and three associates were accused by county prosecutors of plotting to kill members of a rival gang called "Only The Fields," based out of the public Ebbets Field Houses complex in Crown Heights.
That case is still in the trial phase. Alexander's next appearance is scheduled for July 12.

The teen rapper's most popular music video, "Suburban," was recorded in the streets of Brooklyn with guns and blunts as props. The video, included below, has racked up more than 1 million views on YouTube in just half a year.

Oates said that a weapon was recovered from the scene of the police shooting as a search of the area continued on Monday.

"A weapon was recovered in this event and a search for additional weapons was conducted overnight in the dark and another search is underway right now in daylight," he said.

Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department said that the initial shooting over the parking spot took place at 10:35 p.m. in the 200 block of Ocean Drive.

Having been on heightened alert all weekend, Miami Beach police responded to the scene of that shooting within one minute. Both of the victims were taken to Ryder Trauma Center of Jackson Memorial Hospital by Miami Beach Fire Rescue. Witnesses told police that they saw the suspects fleeing the scene in the BMW, which was spotted by police near Alton Road and 2 Street heading north.

"Officers begin to follow," said Rodriguez, adding that the BMW drove down 5 Street in the wrong direction before crashing into two Miami Beach police vehicles at 5 Street and Alton Road.

The police chase then continued north on Alton Road for one block before the BMW stopped. Two Miami Beach police officers fired their weapons and struck one of the suspects, who later died of his injuries.

Sunday's shooting incidents marked the second straight day of gun violence in Miami Beach. A Georgia man was arrested on Saturday night after he fired multiple shots into a taxi.

Twenty-five-year-old Dontavious Johnson of Athens was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and other offenses. The incident occurred at 5:39 p.m. at 6 Street and Collins Avenue.

"The defendant, while standing on a street corner located at 6 Street and Collins Avenue, armed with a semi-automatic handgun, shot numerous times at an occupied taxi," according to arrest documents. "Video surveillance showed that a black male passenger, possibly injured, exited the tax and fled on foot and was not located."

Rodriguez said that police were still searching for the victim of Saturday's shooting on Monday.

Police also reported a "large fight" on Monday at 6 Street and the beach in which a man was stabbed with a bottle. The wound was not considered life threatening and the victim did not wish to pursue charges.

The police shooting is being investigated by the Miami-Dade Police Department under a two-year-old policy in which all officer-involved shootings in the city are investigated by an outside agency in an effort to ensure transparency and accountability.

Both of the Miami Beach officers involved in Sunday's shooting have been placed on administrative leave in accordance with department policy.

Police towed the white BMW from the scene where it was transferred to the custody of Miami-Dade police, who were expected to conduct a full search of the vehicle.

"We are confident we have the shooter identified and we are determining appropriate charges," said Rodriguez of Sunday's shooting incident on Ocean Drive.

Patch editor Simone Wilson in New York contributed to this report. Photo of Jeffery Alexander courtesy of the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department