Accused El Mula Banquet Hall Shooter Warneric Buckner Released From Jail After Charges Dropped
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – One of the men accused of the El Mula banquet hall shooting has been released from jail Wednesday night after the charges he was facing were dropped.
Warneric Buckner's mother covered his face with a blanket as they left the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The two hopped into an awaiting Nissan Altima, saying nothing along the way.
WEB EXTRA: Warneric Buckner Released From Jail
The 20-year-old is no longer facing charges, even after police say he admitted to jumping out of an SUV and shooting into the crowd last May at the El Mula Banquet Hall.
He faced three counts of murder and 20 counts of attempted murder.
But now prosecutors are dropping the charges, saying even though when he was questioned by investigators implicating himself and other gunmen, they noted "…the Defendant initially invoked his right to counsel, and despite the invocation, homicide investigators with the Miami-Dade Police Department continued to conduct an interrogation."
Attorney Mark Eiglarsh is not involved in the case. He explains what this all means.
"The prosecutor is saying that they violated the defendant's Miranda rights, so his statement is not going to come into evidence," Eiglarsh said.
With his statement tossed the state attorney's office said, "Without the statement, the State of Florida concludes that there is insufficient evidence, at this point in time, to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt."
Eiglarsh said, "It's extremely serious because it appears that he admitted his involvement in a significant crime."
Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez tweeted, in part, "I was disappointed and saddened to learn from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office that Mr. Warneric Buckner's confession, on his involvement in the El Mula Banquet Hall shooting, was deemed inadmissible. We will continue investigating to ensure that justice is served on all that are responsible for this heinous crime."
And the state attorney's office made it very clear this is still an open investigation.
"What prosecutors are saying is that it's not over. If there's other evidence excluding his alleged confession that somehow proves this case beyond a reasonable doubt than they will go forward with charges," Eiglarsh said.
