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Prosecutors decline charges against three Miami officers in fatal Wynwood gunfire
Three Miami officers will not face criminal charges for a June 2025 shooting that killed 28-year-old bystander Evelyn Valdes and the armed man involved in a confrontation. Valdes’ family is pursuing a federal lawsuit and has sought investigative records and video.
MIAMI — Three Miami police officers will not face criminal charges for firing their weapons during a June 2025 confrontation outside a Wynwood nightclub that killed a bystander and an armed man, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said Friday.
A prosecutor’s office review concluded that Sgt. Jose Cabrera, Sgt. Javier Herbello and Officer Dorian Acosta were legally justified in using deadly force, according to a closeout memo. The shooting also wounded nightclub manager John Fortini.
The decision leaves unresolved questions for the family of Evelyn Valdes, 28, who was struck by a bullet while riding in the back seat of a car leaving the area. Her mother, Kristi Garcia, met with State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle last week to ask for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s investigative report, body-camera footage and witness statements. Garcia has said she wants accountability for her daughter’s death.
The shooting began shortly before 3 a.m. on June 14, 2025. According to the memo, Cabrera and Herbello were outside a restaurant when a private security guard approached them about an alleged phone theft involving two people. The officers went to investigate at a nearby nightclub, and Cabrera requested additional officers. Acosta and Officer Daniela Ruque also responded.
While police were looking into the alleged theft, a separate altercation broke out near the club’s exit. Authorities said Norman Lindo Jr., 30, drew a gun as nightclub co-owner Jake Hermelo tried to restrain him. Herbello and Acosta ordered Lindo to drop the weapon, but he continued forward with it, according to the memo. Cabrera, Herbello and Acosta then fired, striking Lindo several times. He died at a hospital.
Valdes was in a vehicle departing amid congested traffic when she was hit. The people in the car pulled over about a block away. At 3:06 a.m., a woman told police Valdes had been struck by a stray bullet, was still breathing and needed help. Emergency crews arrived at 3:22 a.m.; Valdes was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Fortini was hit in the hand and treated at a hospital, the memo said.
Valdes’ family has filed a federal civil lawsuit against the city of Miami and the police department, said family attorney Ramon Rasco. The state attorney’s decision concerns criminal charges; it does not resolve that civil case. In an interview last week, Garcia described her daughter as her closest confidante and said she did not deserve to die.