MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A southwest Miami-Dade man is facing a second-degree murder charge after police said he killed a man, burned a portion of his body and left it on the side of a dirt road in the rural Redland area.
Roiniel Perez, 31, is also facing additional charges after police said he stole the victim’s car and led police on a chase that ended in a crash on U.S. 1 on Sunday.
Authorities said the victim, Oscar Rene Hernandez Augustin, was reported missing on Tuesday along with his Toyota Corolla. Authorities found the 52-year-old’s body, “burned from the waist down” and partially decomposed, along the side of the 23600 block of Southwest 227th Avenue.
An autopsy on Friday revealed that Hernandez Augustin had been stabbed several times, police said.
A Miami-Dade police officer spotted the Corolla on Sunday along the 12000 block of South Dixie Highway in the Goulds area, an arrest report states.
Police said he tried pulling over Perez, but he took off and led officers on a pursuit that ended after he blew a red light at Southwest 137th Avenue and hit another vehicle; its passengers suffered minor injuries.
Authorities said Perez ran off from the crash scene and he was eventually taken into custody at Hidalgo’s Cafe-Restaurant, located near the intersection.
Police said Perez, in a “self-serving statement,” told detectives that Hernandez Augustin had picked him up from his home on Tuesday. He wasn’t seen again.
Authorities said they found Hernandez Augustin’s identification and bank cards in Perez’s wallet. They said Perez admitted to making several purchases using Hernandez Augustin’s Wells Fargo card.
Police said Perez gave them consent to search his cellphone and found photos taken from inside the Corolla that “depicted bloodstained rear seats, bank cards and the victim’s identification card.”
Additionally, they said Perez had a photograph of his palm showing multiple cuts; he was unable to explain how they got there.
“The victim’s vehicle was processed, revealing a substantial amount of blood in the rear seats and multiple pairs of blue latex gloves, which (were) consistent with ones left on the scene where the victim was found,” the report states.
The report doesn’t state how or whether the men knew each other or a motive for the killing.
As of Monday, Perez was being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.