Father Says Miami Teen Son Killed Over Money Not Headphones
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The father of an 18-year-old Miami Jackson High school student who was shot and killed on Sunday afternoon said his son may have been robbed of cash that he had given him.
"I gave him $100 and we think that money is missing," said Manuel Uriarte, whose 18-year-old son Pedro Uriarte was murdered around 3:30 Sunday afternoon while going to a store to run an errand for his family.
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Pedro Uriarte's brother Jesus Uriarte said he did not think Pedro was shot and killed because he was wearing Beats by Dre headphones that can cost as much as $400.
"It was not about headphones," Jesus Uriarte told CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "I don't know what caused the shooting but it was not about headphones."
Friends of Pedro Uriarte had said they thought his life was taken as a result of wearing the expensive headphones he had purchased on Black Friday.
Uriarte's friend Julissa Obando had said, "The lady said he had on Beats headphones and that they tried to take them from him and they shot him."
Jesus Uriarte said the headphones were left behind by the shooter.
D'Oench also asked Uriarte about a report from our CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald that Miami Police are looking into a possible connection between Uriarte's murder and the shooting of two juveniles in Little Haiti on Veteran's Day.
CBS4 identified those two victims as 17-year-old James Leake and 10-year-old Ekari Godwin, who was wounded in the leg and was an innocent victim, police said.
"This is the first time I am hearing of this," said Jesus Uriarte. "Little Haiti is 30 blocks away."
The Miami Herald reported that there was a Facebook page of someone who police say knows the person who shot Leake and Godwin and that Facebook page was updated after Uriarte's shooting with "references to retaliation."
Pedro Uriarte was an A-B student at Miami Jackson Senior High School who was set to graduate in June. His family says he wanted to go to college and become an accountant.
The incident happened on N.W. 20th St. near the family's home on N.W. 5th Place.
"We were destroyed by this," Manuel Uriarte told CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "We are very bad. This guy killed us. He killed my son. My wife at this time is destroyed. Somebody has to be strong right now for the family. I have to be strong."
"I got my powerful God. God is my best friend. The only thing I can say at this time is help us find the guy who killed my son.
"I say he killed my family when he killed my son, all my family here and in the rest of this country and in Nicaragua. He destroyed my family."
Uriarte spoke out by a makeshift memorial for his son at the crime scene that is growing and that now has nearly 200 candles.
Family members, friends of Pedro Uriarte and neighbors have been flocking to this site.
With tears flowing down her cheeks, Lisa Cobb said, "I knew him. He was a friend of my son and it just breaks my heart to see that he is not here. He was a good person."
Paulette Jackson, a neighbor, said, "We feel very bad. We are all part of the community and when we lose someone we all get together. My heart goes out to the family. We are going to find out who did this."
Angela Williams, another distraught neighbor, said, "This is what you call a waste and for what, for what. I don't know. My heart just goes out to the family."
'It would mean the world to us if this case was solved," said Jesus Uriarte. "All we want is justice. And we need help from the public. We need the community to help us. I think this was senseless. He was no threat to anyone."
Uriarte said his family appreciated those who came to the vigil Monday night at the crime scene for his brother.
"It feels good," he said. "It shows people care about us."
Miami Police said they do not have a motive for the shooting. It's not known if the shooter had an accomplice and if there was a getaway.
Police are trying to determine if surveillance cameras at nearby Dunbar elementary school and on nearby buildings captured any useful images.
Miami Police say anyone with information that can help should call Miami-Dade
Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477). There is a reward of up to $3,000.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report.)
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