HIALEAH, Fla. – The Hialeah Police Department released surveillance video Thursday that shows a security guard employed by Rey Chavez Distributor firing his gun at a car that an accused shoplifter had fled to.
The video shows a man, who police said is the market’s security guard, Leonardo Morales, 50, firing one shot at 39-year-old Steadman Amaya’s getaway car on Tuesday outside the supermarket at 780 W. 17 St. after he stole about $200 worth of lobster tails.
Police said Amaya’s ex-girlfriend, Angela Pupo, 32, and her two daughters were in the car.
Pupo’s 6-year-old girl was shot in her right knee and her 8-year-old daughter suffered a cut in her right thigh after a window shattered, police said.
“The only positive thing is the kids, from what I hear, are going to be OK,” Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez said.
According to authorities, Pupo told police officers that Amaya was supposed to steal crab legs and she was supposed to make $30 out of the sale.
Officers arrested Pupo and Morales, but are still looking for Amaya, who they said is a convicted felon.
Morales was initially facing two counts of attempted manslaughter with a deadly weapon and one count of shooting a deadly missile, but on Thursday, police announced that the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office decided to upgrade the attempted manslaughters counts to attempted second-degree murder.
Pupo is also now facing a charge of making false reports to law enforcement authorities, in addition to two counts of child neglect and petit theft. She allegedly lied to police and blamed two fictional black suspects for the shooting. Police say she later admitted to the lobster tail theft and the incident with the guard.
Her daughters are currently in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about Amaya’s whereabouts to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.