MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – An “irate” woman called a man up in May after another man made “vulgar statements” to her during an argument in a west Miami-Dade mall parking lot, then encouraged him to shoot the victim — and he did, police said.
Nearly five months after the shooting, police arrested the accused gunman on an attempted murder charge. Authorities took Omar Remy Castellanos, 40, of Miami, into custody Tuesday, in connection to the May 18 shooting at the Midway Crossings mall.
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The shooting happened just after 12:30 p.m. outside the half-century-old mall, once- and perhaps better-known as the “Mall of the Americas,” located at 7795 W. Flagler St. in the Fontainebleau area.
Police accused Leonor Rodriguez, 60, of southwest Miami-Dade, of calling Castellanos to the scene amid the altercation, then, after he arrived, egged on the gunfire by shouting “shoot him” in Spanish.
Police said Remy Castellanos fired six rounds at the victim, striking him once in the arm. He then got back in his Toyota and left after Rodriguez “encouraged him to flee,” an arrest report states.
Rodriguez faced an attempted murder charge as well, but, according to Miami-Dade court records, prosecutors appear to have dropped the case against her in August; it’s not clear why. Local 10 News has contacted the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office seeking comment and has not yet received a response as of publication.
The report doesn’t specify how the two allegedly knew one another.
Police said a witness identified Remy Castellanos from a photo lineup, but the Cuban national wouldn’t be taken into custody until he turned himself in to Miami-Dade police on Tuesday.
A judge found probable cause to charge Castellanos on Wednesday. He was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $15,000 bond, according to jail records.