Police: Drummer’s conflict with ex-bandmate in Miami-Dade involved Molotov cocktail, ‘Dia De Los Muertos’ skull mask

Police officers arrested Daniel John Taddeo on Wednesday in Miami-Dade County. (Copyright 2023 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.)

MIAMI – A drummer was so angry at a former bandmate that he frightened him and his family for weeks in Miami-Dade County, police said.

Daniel John Taddeo used a 2020 glass bottle of Charles Smith Velvet Devil Merlot to make a Molotov cocktail, and armed himself with a sledgehammer and a wrench, police said.

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Surveillance cameras recorded Taddeo, 29, breaking into his former bandmate’s home on Wednesday and throwing the homemade bomb into the living room, according to police.

Taddeo wore a “Dia De Los Muertos” skull mask and gloves, police said.

“Alright, I am not a bad person,” Taddeo told a detective, adding that he was mad over a costly track, according to the arrest report.

It wasn’t the first time Taddeo, of Miami Shores, had been accused of targeting the home in the city of North Miami Beach while wearing the skull mask, police records show.

In May, detectives reported Taddeo used a silver wrench to destroy a doorbell camera and damage a window, and he returned days later to break the door’s handle and damage the window again, according to the police report.

A detective estimated Taddeo had caused his former bandmate about $10,000 in damages, according to a police report. Detectives arrested Taddeo on Wednesday and he appeared in court on Thursday.

Taddeo was facing charges of arson, a first-degree felony; shooting or throwing a deadly missile, a second-degree felony; aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony; and three counts of criminal mischief of more than $1,000, a third-degree felony.

A judge set Taddeo’s bond at $10,000 and ordered house arrest. The musician remained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Thursday afternoon.


About the Author

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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