MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A man was arrested Friday in the beating of two brothers during a home invasion in southwest Miami-Dade.
Kionne Bell, 21, faces charges of attempted murder and home invasion robbery with a weapon.
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The incident was reported about 8:30 a.m. April 4 at a home in the area of Southwest 281st Terrace and 141st Place.
According to detectives, a family of five lives in the home, but only two were home at the time of the invasion.
Police said two brothers, ages 15 and 19, were home alone sleeping when one of them heard their cat making a hissing sound in the living room.
The older brother, Alfredo "Freddy" Gallegos, went to see what was happening and was attacked by Bell who was armed with a metal pipe wrench, an arrest report said.
Alexis Gallegos heard his sibling screaming for help and ran into the living room. Police said he was also attacked by Bell, who beat him over the head with the wrench.
According to the report, before Alexis was unconscious Bell told him, "I want you to die and go to sleep."
Detectives said Bell left the home with jewelry and $2,000 in cash.
A witness who rents a room at a townhome told detectives that she saw Bell, who was covered in blood, enter the townhome through a back door after the home invasion and two other men enter through the front door.
She said she overheard Bell being asked, "What the (expletive) did you do?" She said he responded, "I don't give a (expletive) if somebody sees me. I have $2,000 and jewelry from the jewelry box."
The witness identified Bell in a photo lineup.
Officers told Local 10 News that Bell was wearing bandannas over his head to conceal his identity.
The brothers were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition, but were later upgraded to stable condition.
A woman who lives next door to the family said her home was also ransacked, and a laptop and her TV were stolen.
Police said they saw a man leaving the woman's home as they were investigating the first home invasion and took him into custody.
They said the man, whose identity has not been released, had an out-of-state warrant and a local warrant unrelated to last week’s incidents.
It's unclear whether he will face charges in the home invasions.