MIAMI – The man accused of killing Cuban reggaeton star El Taiger in Miami faced a first-degree murder charge Thursday instead of a second-degree murder charge.
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Miami-Dade County records show a grand jury indicted Damian Valdez-Galloso, who has been at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center since Nov. 6.
“The family wants justice to be served,” Teresa Padron, Carbajal’s former manager, said outside the courtroom.
Detectives accused Valdez-Galloso, a registered sex offender who turned 50 behind bars, of shooting Jose “El Taiger” Carbajal in the head while the two argued at the front door of his home at 510 SE 5 St., in Hialeah.
“I have seen the video unedited and I feel like there is two other people, two other female. I believe that during the trial there will be a release of that information at some point,” Padron said about surveillance video in the case.
Detectives suspect Valdez-Galloso dragged Carbajal by the legs, put him in the trunk of his SUV, cleaned the scene, drove away, and abandoned him in the parked SUV on Oct. 3, in the Health District in Allapattah.
Police officers found Carbajal wounded inside the SUV near Northwest 9 Avenue and 17 Street. Fire rescue personnel took him to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center. He died on Oct. 10 in the hospital. He was 37.
Investigators tracked Valdez-Galloso to New York where he was arrested on Oct. 29 for failing to register as a sex offender and he was extradited to Miami-Dade County.
Records show prosecutors first charged Valdez-Galloso with second-degree murder with a weapon, tampering with physical evidence, and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. There were also two warrant cases for violating registration requirements as a sex offender.
Valdez-Galloso’s attorney entered a plea of not guilty, as correctional officers held him without bond.
“If the state is going to be pursuing the death penalty ... believe in my personal opinion that if that happens ... he will change his plea from not guilty to guilty,” Padron said about the possibility of a plea deal that could help Valdez-Galloso to avoid the death penalty.
Watch interview with Teresa Padron