MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Miami-Dade County judge on Thursday granted a motion for the early termination of probation for a man who was convicted of felony battery in connection with a fatal stabbing that occurred outside a Halloween party in 2017.
Edwin Rios was initially charged with murder and attempted murder, however the state downgraded the charges to two counts of felony battery in exchange for Rios’ cooperation and testimony against three others arrested in the case.
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Rios was sentenced to two years of house arrest followed by eight years of probation.
Alejandro Tapia, Sebastian Zorrilla and Andres Feo were also arrested in the case and charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.
According to an arrest report, Rios was part of a group of men who attacked two brothers as they were leaving a Halloween party early in the morning on Oct. 21, 2017, at a home on Southwest 147th Street.
Christopher Restrepo said he was stabbed in the arm as they were ambushed. His brother, Alex Restrepo, 33, was stabbed in the back and torso and left to die.
Witnesses said the incident started as a verbal altercation inside the home and the hosts asked those involved to leave. Witnesses said the argument, involving about six people, escalated in the street.
Alex Restrepo died at Jackson South Medical Center. He was a graduate of the University of Florida and was a nuclear engineer at the Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station.
During Thursday’s hearing, his family members pleaded with the judge not to cut Rios’ probation period short.
“I didn’t expect it, but at the same time, I’m astounded where a person like Edwin Rios, who has started his criminal life at the age of 17 – I have the records with me – 2010, 2013. (In) 2016, he ended his parole. Nineteen months later, him and the other three killed my son and here he is,” Restrepo’s mother, Amparo Restrepo, said. “Another slap in the face.”