MIAMI – Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for two men charged in the fatal shooting of a Hialeah dentist.
A grand jury has indicted Ralph Benjamin and Hector Ledesma on first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Both men pleaded not guilty in court Friday.
According to a Hialeah police report, Benjamin shot Carmen Ramirez multiple times on the stairwell leading to her dental office on East 41st Street in November. She died weeks later.
Police said surveillance video revealed that Ledesma was the getaway driver.
An investigation determined that Ledesma is the brother of Jose Ledesma, who is facing three to five years in prison if convicted of identity theft. The victim in that 2015 case was Ramirez, who was set to testify in his trial.
Police said Ledesma defrauded Ramirez out of more than $40,000.
Investigators determined that Benjamin and Ledesma purchased one-way tickets to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Ramirez lives, the day after the shooting. They were arrested as they prepared to board a plane at Miami International Airport.