MIAMI – Records released on Monday identified the suspect who detectives said was a Brickell armed carjacker and the driver involved in a dangerous high-speed chase that ended with a crash and the fatal shooting of his partner in crime in Miami-Dade County.
Adonay Rodriguez, who was born in Cuba and lived in Miami’s West Little River area — was wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — and had a suspended driver’s license, records show. He was with Nicolas “Chile” Avila, who was wearing a GPS ankle monitor since he was on probation, police said.
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A man who was working as a security guard reported he was taking a break in the front passenger seat of his parked 2017 Nissan Versa at about 7 p.m., on Sept. 25. He was on the sixth floor of the garage at Espírito Santo Plaza, 1395 Brickell Ave., when an armed duo threatened him, police said.
The security guard said when he saw Avila, 24, point the firearm to the ground, he took the opportunity to hit him on the nose and run, as he heard the sound of a firearm racking, according to police. Surveillance video shows the duo fled with his Nissan, police said.
Rolando Aguabella told police officers Rodriguez, 37, who was driving, picked him up after 7 p.m., and he noticed Avila, the front passenger, had a bruise on his face before the three went looking to buy “piedra,” Spanish slang for crack cocaine, according to the police report.
Shortly before 9 p.m., a license plate reader at Northwest 46 Street and Northwest 27 Avenue, alerted the Miami-Dade Police Department of the presence of the Nissan Versa that the Miami Police Department had reported stolen, according to a police arrest report.
A police helicopter started following the Nissan at about 9:05 p.m., at the Quick Stop store, at 3101 NW 46 St., in Miami-Dade’s Brownsville neighborhood, and detectives in patrol cars followed, as Rodriguez drove southbound on Northwest 32 Avenue, according to police.
One of the gunmen fired at the detectives in the area of Northwest 26 Street and 26 Avenue and then Rodriguez sped away, driving recklessly until he crashed at Northwest 23 Street and 12 Avenue, according to the Miami-Dade police arrest report.
A detective with the MDPD Robbery Intervention Detail reported shooting Avila in the chest after he produced a firearm, records show. A doctor pronounced Avila dead shortly after 9:45 p.m., at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, records show.
According to police, investigators later found a Smith & Wesson, 9mm pistol next to Avila. Investigators reported it had a spent casing lodged, which had failed to eject from inside the barrel. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the police shooting.
Miami-Dade court records show Avila was on a 6-year probation for a 2019 Miami police case on charges of cocaine possession, aggravated battery with bodily harm, and resisting arrest without violence, and he was accused of violating his probation on Sept. 15.
Corrections officers booked Aguabella, 29, at about 8:50 a.m., on Sept. 26, and Rodriguez, at about 9:35 a.m., on Sept. 26. Aguabell was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, and Rodriguez was at the Metrowest Detention Center, according to county inmate records Monday.
Miami-Dade court records show Rodriguez had three open cases.
Prosecutors filed two cases on Sept. 27 for fleeing and eluding police and petit theft, and another on Sept. 30 for second-degree murder felony carjacking, second-degree murder resisting arrest, and second-degree murder fleeing and eluding police. His arraignment is at 9 a.m. on Oct. 16.
Miami-Dade court records show Miami-Dade police officers arrested Aguabella in April last year accusing him of grand theft and driving with a suspended license. He was on a brief probation before prosecutors closed the case in November.
Corrections held him on charges of fleeing and eluding police, two counts of armed robbery, and petit theft. His bond was set at $13,501. Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.