Family members identify attorney's estranged son as shooter in Boca Raton homicide
BOCA RATON — For nearly an hour Saturday afternoon, Brandon Labiner waited in the parking garage of a Boca Raton office building, pacing back and forth as he waited to confront another man, city police said in arresting him on a first-degree murder charge.
As the other man exited his office and entered the garage, Labiner first scuffled with him, then shot him four times, police alleged, according to an arrest report made public Wednesday.
Labiner, a 34-year-old personal-injury attorney whose license was suspended in April, remains in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail after County Judge Ted Booras ordered Monday that he be held without bail.
An attorney listed in court records as Labiner’s representative could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
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Shooter hid in garage, waiting for victim to arrive, police say
City police did not disclose the name of the man who died, saying that his family invoked its right to privacy under a 2018 state constitutional amendment modeled after California’s Marsy’s Law. The amendment allows either crime victims or their families to request that their names be withheld from public reports.
However, multiple media outlets have reported that the victim was Labiner’s father, Boca Raton attorney Paul Labiner. Police reports show that the shooting occurred outside an office building where the elder Labiner’s law firm is located. Brandon Labiner's arrest report indicates that the victim was a 68-year-old attorney.
The younger Labiner once worked at his father’s firm. The Florida Supreme Court suspended his license in April after Paul Labiner filed a lawsuit against him. That lawsuit alleges that Brandon stole more than $500,000 from the account of Mindy Labiner, Paul’s wife.
City police said that a family member found the shooting victim’s body in the breezeway of the parking garage on the 5400 block of North Federal Highway, near Yamato Road.
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According to the arrest report, officers arrived shortly before 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and a woman told them she found the victim there after he failed to meet her for a planned shopping trip. Another person told investigators he heard four gunshots but did not see the shooting.
A relative identified Brandon Labiner as the shooter and told investigators that Brandon and the victim had a strained relationship due to an unresolved legal battle, according to the arrest report.
Investigators say surveillance-camera video showed a man arrive at the garage on a bicycle shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday. The man, identified as Brandon Labiner, took a box out of his backpack, removed what appeared to be a firearm from it and placed the item on the ground, the report said.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Labiner reportedly picked the item up and hid behind a wall. Another man entered the garage area and a scuffle between Labiner and the other man ensued before both went out of the view of the camera, the report said.
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Video cameras captured shooter fleeing aboard bicycle
Surveillance video from a nearby business showed Labiner leaving on the bicycle just minutes after the encounter in the garage, police said. Two people related to Labiner reviewed the video and identified him as the person on the bicycle.
Police later tracked a car belonging to Brandon Labiner to his office address on the 900 block of North Federal and an officer saw Labiner exit the vehicle and go into the office. Multiple officers attempted to contact Labiner by telephone, but he declined to speak and instructed the officers to contact his attorney, the arrest report said.
The attorney was called and assisted officers with having Labiner exit the building. Labiner was then arrested on a separate DUI charge out of Broward County.
After obtaining warrants to search Labiner’s office and vehicle, they found a bicycle matching the description of the one seen in the surveillance video, the report said. They also found evidence that Labiner attempted to destroy evidence by burning it in a trash can, the report said.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Relatives ID Boca Raton attorney's estranged son as shooter in homicide
