MIAMI – Miami police detectives said Monday that Jose Trimaine Jose, a 6-foot-3 former University of Central Florida player, was killed in a Friday afternoon shooting in Wynwood.
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Jose also played high school football for Booker T. Washington and Miami Central. His aunt Janice Ricketts said the 28-year-old father left behind three children.
“He was an awesome dad because he took responsibility,” Ricketts said. “He was taking care of his kids. He loved his mom. He took care of his mom ... He was the sweetest person."
After Jose was fatally shot in the torso, near the intersection of Northwest 20th Street and North Miami Avenue, there was a massive manhunt in an area of Miami’s Wynwood-Overtown boundary.
According to Officer Kiara Delva, a spokeswoman for the Miami Police Department, officers arrested Lynwood Walker III, for his role in the shooting. Walker, 27, had fled to another state, but detectives caught up to him and are bringing him back to Miami-Dade County, Delva said.
Walker, who has a “Death Before Dishonor” tattoo on his forehead and is known as local rapper Tankhead666, had a pending domestic violence case in Miami-Dade County court. He was arrested Nov. 25 for battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and assault.
Prosecutors haven’t filed charges against Walker in the Wynwood shooting.
Jose also had a criminal record. In 2010, the talented offensive guard had a promising future with a long list of scholarship offers that included the University of Miami. Jose signed with UCF. Records show he lost his way.
When Jose was arrested on aggravated assault and concealed weapons charges in 2010 in Miami-Dade County, the Key Knights football recruit was released from the scholarship. Jose worked hard to redeem himself as a cornerback and defensive tackle before his UCF coach dismissed him over disciplinary issues.
Jose appeared in nine games during his UCF sophomore season in 2011 and eight games during his junior season in 2012 before leaving the team.
Jose faced marijuana-related charges in Orange and Miami-Dade counties in 2016 and 2017. He had become known in the local rap scene as Fat Papi Escobar, and that same year, he released his IgNaRich album.
A witness at Kush, a popular gastropub in Wynwood, said he heard a loud argument that escalated into a shooting on Friday. After the shooting, witnesses told police officers there were two men bleeding on the ground. Miami Fire Rescue took them to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center where doctors pronounced Jose dead.
Detectives haven’t identified the other victim of the shooting. They are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
According to posts on Facebook, former @UCF_Football player Jose Jose (@FatPapiEscobars) has passed away. He played in the early 2010s. Was always popular with fans and teammates. After football, he had a rap career going by the stage name, "Fat Papi Escobars." R.I.P. 😢 pic.twitter.com/UjhPWJhGAG
— Brandon Helwig (@UCFSports) February 8, 2020