Grand jury will review fatal 2019 shooting of UPS driver and his kidnappers

Rafael Olmeda, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·2 min read
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Broward prosecutors confirmed Wednesday that they are planning to go in front of a grand jury with the results of an investigation into the 2019 shooting that claimed the life of a UPS truck driver, the two men who kidnapped him in Miami-Dade, and a bystander who was driving near the Miramar intersection where a standoff with police took place.

Family members of driver Frank Ordonez complained on Tuesday, the fourth anniversary of the shooting, that no one had been held accountable for the barrage of gunfire that ended the standoff.

Grand jury proceedings are normally secret, but a television news station disclosed Tuesday night that the Broward grand jury will be looking at the case.

“We can confirm that prosecutors plan to present the investigation to the grand jury, possibly over several weeks or months,” said Broward State Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Paula McMahon. The presentation will start early next year, she said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement turned its findings over to the Broward State Attorney’s Office last year. Official reports show as many as 20 law enforcement officers from six South Florida agencies were involved in the standoff at the intersection of Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road on Dec. 5, 2019.

The drama began earlier in Coral Cables, where ex-convicts Lamar Alexander and Jerome Hill hijacked Ordonez’s UPS truck after trying to rob a jewelry store on Miracle Mile, according to police accounts. With Ordonez as a hostage, the men made their way to Miramar, where a shootout with police ensued.

Ordonez, Alexander and Hill died, as well as bystander Richard Cutshaw.

But questions remain about whether the police shooting was necessary, whether the robbers fired first, and whether adequate safety measures were taken before lethal force was employed.

Former Hollywood police union chief Jeff Marano said Wednesday he is confident the police use of force will be shown to be justified.

“They’re going to bring in use-of-force experts who are going to show what was going through these officers’ minds when they took action,” Marano said. “We’re going to see that this was not a criminal act.”

Grand jurors will have the option of charging officers with reckless endangerment, manslaughter or misdemeanor offenses, or declaring that the police response was justified or, at the least, not criminal.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.