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MIAMI, FL—FBI agents arrested five people following a Miami Gardens robbery that ended with the death of a 26-year-old Brink’s armored truck guard. According to information provided by the Miami Herald, the robbery and subsequent fatal shooting occurred at the Calder Casino and Race Course on August 21.

Reports indicated 26-year-old Hollywood resident Uri Steven Ammar, as well as 25-year-old Vladimir Louissant, 26-year-old Victoria Barkley, 23-year-old Byron Kyler and 26-year-old Reginald Mitchell, whom all reside in Miami Gardens, face unspecified criminal charges in connection with the fatal Miami-Dade shooting. Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the arrests on Aug. 22.
At approximately 5 p.m. on Aug. 21, one of the named offenders sat on a bench outside the Miami Gardens casino, awaiting the return of a Brink’s armored car courier. When Brink’s employee Alvaro Lopez Ramos did indeed return to the armored truck with a bag of money, gunfire erupted.

While the gunman subsequently fled the scene, Ramos suffered severe gunshot wounds, which eventually proved fatal. Although details concerning the violent armored truck robbery and fatal shootout remained limited, reports noted that several Brink’s armored cars have been robbed over the past few years. The Miami-Dade robbery/murder case is underway.

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MIAMI, FL—Federal prosecutors announced on Aug. 23 that two of the five individuals whom South Florida Violent Crimes Task Force members arrested in connection with a recent robbery and fatal shooting of a Brink’s armored truck courier at the Miami Gardens-based Calder Casino and Race Course were actually employees at the casino. The violent robbery/murder happened around 5 p.m. on August 21, according to information provided by NBC Miami.

Officials apprehended 26-year-old Hollywood resident Uri Steven Ammar, as well as 25-year-old Vladimir Louissant, 26-year-old Victoria Barkley, 23-year-old Byron Kyler and 26-year-old Reginald Mitchell, all of whom reside in Miami Gardens, for their involvement in the deadly shooting and robbery of 26-year-old Brink’s armored truck guard Alvaro Lopez Ramos.

Previous reports indicated Louissant waited for the Brink’s employee Alvaro Ramos to return to his armored truck, accompanied by Calder employee Uri Ammar. When Ramos did arrive, Vladimir Louissant shot him next to the armored truck, which was parked outside Calder Casino and Race Course. The shooting victim sustained fatal bullet wounds in the incident.

Louissant, on the other hand, fled the scene in Byron Kyler’s truck after robbing the courier of about $345,000. Reginald Mitchell, also an employee at the Miami Gardens casino, was identified as the getaway driver.

Victoria Barkley was identified as the individual who picked up both Mitchell and Louissant after they dropped off the truck used to flee the scene of the Miami Gardens shooting.

All detained suspects were reportedly denied bond. The case is ongoing.

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MIAMI, FL—An arrest was made following a violent stabbing incident that occurred at a Broward County-based entertainment and retail complex during the early hours of August 21. According to information provided by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the 24-year-old stabbing suspect was arrested on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in connection with the attack, which left a 20-year-old man hospitalized.

Reports suggested 24-year-old Shaliko Sarkisyan stabbed 20-year-old Julian Gomez in the back after an argument spurred a short physical fight between them. It is suspected that a woman might have been an accomplice in the attack, which occurred in a bathroom at Las Olas Riverfront Entertainment Complex in Fort Lauderdale at approximately 3:10 a.m.

The unidentified female, who was said to be about “5-foot-5 and 150 pounds, with brown shoulder-length hair,” is suspected of ditching the knife in a woman’s bathroom before leaving the scene. Sarkisyan, on the hand, was arrested on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

The Fort Lauderdale stabbing victim was rushed to Broward General Medical Center following the stabbing incident. He was allegedly deemed stable in the hospital on the night of August 21.

While it remained unclear if any security guards were on duty when the assault occurred, officials from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department are expected to conduct a full investigation into the stabbing case.

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MIAMI, FL—A young boy was airlifted to a Jacksonville Beach hospital as a Trauma Alert following a horrific boating accident that occurred on the Intracoastal Waterway. According to information provided by First Coast News, a 6-year-old boy fell off a boat and was struck by its propeller around 6 p.m. on August 17.

Reports indicated officials from the Jacksonville Beach Police Department (JBPD) were dispatched to a boat ramp in close proximity to the 2500 block of Second Avenue North upon being notified of a boat accident on the Intracoastal Waterway. According to Tom Bingham, a police spokesman, authorities were informed that a child had fallen off a moving vessel and was subsequently hit by its propeller.

Although details concerning the Florida boating accident remained scarce, investigators from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are expected to conduct a full probe into the incident. The child, who was rushed to Baptist hospital via medical helicopter, suffered a boat propeller injury was deemed to be non-life threatening.

According to statistical data provided by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), 4,730 boating accidents occurred nationwide during the year 2009. Those boat crashes and incidents resulted in a total of 736 boating deaths and 3,358 injuries. Florida accidents resulted in 68 boating fatalities in 2009 and 79 deaths the following year.

Drowning was deemed to be the main cause of death for victims involved in fatal accidents recorded statewide in 2010. Sixty-two percent of the 79 casualties recorded that year (49 victims) were attributed to drowning, while 34 percent of fatalities (27 victims) were attributed to trauma-related injuries. The cause of death for the last four percent of statewide boating deaths (3 victims) recorded that year remained unknown.

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MIAMI, FL—August 17, 2011 – In analyzing U.S. Department of Education data concerning crime on college campuses during the year 2009, ABC Action News I-Team reporters found that the rate of forced sexual encounters at Florida State University (FSU) was twice as high as both Tallahassee-based Florida A&M University and Winter Park-based Rolllins College, which had the next highest rates of on-campus sexual assaults within the state.

According to reports, although FSU authorities made self-defense classes available to all female students interested in taking them since 1996, there were 10 cases of sexual assault reported on campus in 2009. The classes are reportedly offered through the university’s “rape aggression defense” program.

Terming college campus rape and sexual assault a “silent epidemic,” the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that the majority (as many as 95 percent) of forcible sex offenses are not reported to officials. Furthermore, it is estimated that about 25 percent of female students are subjected to an unwanted sexual encounter at some point during their college career.

Additionally, data posted on the American Association of University Women (AAUW) website stated that nearly half (40 percent) of sexual assault and rape victims unfortunately develop sexually transmitted diseases (STD), while just about as many seek mental health treatment following their attacks.

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MIAMI, FL— August 16, 2011 – The Broward Sherriff’s Office has launched an investigation into an injurious shooting that occurred in the parking lot of a Dania Beach motel at approximately 12 a.m. on Aug. 15. According to information provided by NBC Miami, while the shooting victim was rushed to Broward General Hospital after suffering multiple bullet wounds, the gunman’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Reports indicated employees at Red Carpet Inn, located along the 24000 block of State Road 84 (SR-84), called police when an unidentified man showed up at the front office after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds on the side of the motel. The masked gunman, who remains unidentified, subsequently fled the scene.

Broward deputies said they are looking for the shooter, who reportedly used a semi-automatic pistol during the violent attack. Witnesses alleged that the gunman’s four-door getaway car, which might be a Japanese model, was either maroon or a deep red colored vehicle.

Responding emergency medical services (EMS) personnel transported the shooting victim to Broward Medical Center. He remains hospitalized in stable condition. The search for the Dania Beach gunman is ongoing.

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MIAMI, FL—August 8, 2011 – A lawsuit seeking damages in excess of $5 million was filed in L.A. County Superior Court on behalf of a woman who once worked as a receptionist for renowned automotive designer Carroll Shelby. The legendary car-maker, best known for designing the Ford Mustang Cobra, is being accused of sexually assaulting his former employee and failing to take any “corrective action” after she reported being raped by another one of his employees at his own home, as reported by TMZ.
According to information provided, Angelica Smith was hired as a receptionist for the famed automaker in 2005, but claims she was practically regarded as a “personal servant.” Smith contended her job duties often included “grocery runs, liquor runs, pornography runs.”
Not only does the sexual assault lawsuit claim “on at least one occasion, Shelby himself sexually battered [Smith] by groping her,” it also accuses the car designer of disregarding her allegations that another one his workers “drugged and raped” her. Both sexual attacks allegedly occurred within the confines of Shelby’s home.
Furthermore, the suit alleges that Smith’s employment was terminated after she reported the alleged rape to her employer. Defendants named in the pending lawsuit included Carroll Shelby, the companies he owns and the unidentified employee who allegedly raped her in Dec. 2010. The sex assault case is underway.

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MIAMI, FL—A former Orlando hotel worker who was accused of raping a female hotel guest in the middle of the night was subsequently arrested and is now being detained at an Orange County jail in light of the sexual assault allegations. Upon being interrogated by police detectives in connection with the alleged hotel rape case, the suspect responded, “I’ve got nothing to say, take me to jail,” according to Orlando Police Department arrest reports acquired by the Orlando Sentinel.

Reports indicated 30-year-old Deoitre Gibbs was staying at the Vacation Lodge hotel, located along South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, when 37-year-old hotel employee Irving Lee Gifford Jr. allegedly used his master key to slip into her hotel room. Gibbs claims she woke up to a man sexually assaulting her and that hotel surveillance footage could prove that Gifford did indeed enter her room on July 30. Despite her attacker’s verbal threats to her life, she reported the sexual attack to Orlando police.

“He said he was going to kill me, and if I was to say anything, I would be dead,” Gibbs said, maintaining that although she allowed the media to identify her in news coverage concerning the alleged hotel sexual assault case, she did so fully aware that her attacker could attempt to carry out his threats if he were to be released from jail. The alleged rape victim told reporters she wanted to prevent other women from being victimized in the same way. “He’s never going to do this to anyone again,” Gibbs stated.

According to information provided, the alleged rape suspect has a lengthy criminal history, including offenses from burglary to drug possession to aggravated battery against a law-enforcement officer with a deadly weapon. Gifford was booked into the Orange County jail on $5,000 bail and faces charges of sexual battery and burglarizing an occupied dwelling with assault or battery. Investigations into the apparent hotel rape case are ongoing.

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MIAMI, FL— August 3, 2011 – Officials from the Lauderhill Police Department are on the lookout for a gunman who shot and killed a 34-year-old Coral Springs newlywed and father of three in the parking lot of a Broward County apartment complex. According to information provided by the Orlando Sentinel, the shooting victim was allegedly attempting to “make peace” between two people who were bickering outside the Olive Tree Apartments, located at 2051 NW 43rd Terrace, on June 30.
Reports indicated a man and a woman, both of whom remained unidentified, were arguing over money when Brandon James Lee approached them and tried to calm the quarrel. According to Samuel Preston, who was initially playing a game of cards with Mr. Lee, an unidentified man appeared from around the corner and began shooting just after 12 a.m.
Bystanders contended the gunman seemed to open fire upon suspecting that a certain group of people (who were hanging out on the north side of the complex at the time) had been disrespectful to the woman who was involved in the original dispute over $40. Preston told reporters that Lee suffered a gunshot wound to the back as he tried to run away from the gunman. He then suffered two additional bullet wounds during the Broward County shooting.
Friends of the shooting victim subsequently took him to Florida Medical Center. Lee’s traumatic injuries proved fatal after he was transferred to Broward General Medical Center. Reports note that Lee got married only a couple weeks prior to his death. It did not appear as if any others suffered any wounds during the shootout.
Reports did not specify whether there are surveillance cameras in place or security guards on duty at the Broward apartment complex. Nevertheless, investigations into the fatal South Florida apartment shooting, along with the search for the shooter who fled the scene, were expected to be underway.

Working closely with advocacy groups such as the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), the Miami premises liability attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz have extensive and successful experience representing clients in all areas of security negligence and premises liability law. Having already spent more than three decades litigating a variety of complex injury and assault claims, the South Florida injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. will fight to help crime victims obtain the justice a compensation they deserve.

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MIAMI, FL—By examining various FBI reports and U.S. court cases involving cruise companies, a Canadian researcher determined that the number of sexual assaults that occur on cruise ships is approximately 50 percent higher than the number of sex assaults reported on Canadian land. According to information provided by Canadaeast News Service, the Atlantic researcher who conducted the study is a professor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada and has long payed close attention to the closeted side of the cruise ship industry.

Memorial University Professor Ross Klein assessed Federal Bureau of Investigation reports filed between Oct. 2007-2008, as well as cruise line-involved court cases that took place between 1998 and 2005, as a means of determining the rate of sex assaults aboard cruise vessels.

Upon conducting his research, Klein not only concluded that the sexual assault rate on cruise ships was 50 percent higher than the rate of forcible sex crimes in Canada, 15 percent of the cruise ship sexual assault victims were said to be younger than 18.

Furthermore, Klein’s research indicated that in the past, the majority of onboard sexual attacks consisted of crew members assaulting passengers. Updated data appeared to suggest approximately 50 percent of the cases included passengers assaulting passengers or cruise ship employees assaulting their own co-workers.

According to the Washington State Department of Commerce Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA), “Sexual assault is a form of violence that uses unwanted sexual actions, contact, pictures and words in ways that are harmful and traumatic to another person.” Sexual assault is defined by the Canadian criminal code in a similar matter.

Professor Klein contended, “The cruise industry is a microcosm of society in a lot of ways… I think most people would find ways to ignore it… I know they have video cameras, but not all of them work. Rarely are they watched in real time. It’s not really surveillance so much as just keeping information.”
The Miami rape victim lawyers of Gerson & Schwartz added that the cruise line industry is in dire need of reform that will ensure the safety of both passengers and ship workers. Cruise ship companies must provide travelers and crew members with adequate protection from rape and sexual violence, as well as other crimes that could potentially occur on the high seas.

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