Eleska Moore: “Come on, son.”

Health care worker: “Good job!”

They are small steps, on a long road to recovery for Jahmaar Williams.

Eleska Moore: “Right now, I just have to rely on my faith and rely on God that God will restore Jahmaar.”

Eleska Moore spoke with us Wednesday outside a rehab center in Houston — more than a year after her son was critically injured in South Florida.

Eleska Moore: “I’m still his voice, because he’s not able to talk yet.”

Eleska has been her son’s “voice” since March 4th, 2023, when he was hit trying to walk across Pembroke Road in Miramar.

The driver took off, and Jahmaar’s family pleaded for tips from the public.

Eleska Moore, March 2023: “My son is full of life, and to see him not be able to move, it’s extremely hard.”

Jahmaar, a 12-year member of the Army National Guard, suffered a traumatic brain injury.

In February, we aired a story as the agonizing anniversary of the accident approached.

Eleska Moore, February: “For me and my family, it has been a nightmare that you’re just not able to wake up from.”

Eleska shared her struggles while caring for Jahmaar at her home near Houston, where she brought him to live.

Eleska Moore, February: “He’s not able to walk. He’s not able to talk. He’s not able to go to the bathroom. He’s not able to bathe himself. I have to brush his teeth. My son is 6[-foot-]1, so can you imagine having a newborn baby that’s 6[-foot-]1? That’s how it’s like.”

At the time, Eleska’s problems continued to pile up.

There was this letter from the National Guard saying Jahmaar was facing an “honorable discharge” for “failure to meet medical retention standards.” Meaning, he would lose his health insurance from the military.

More bad news came from the Florida Attorney General’s Office. This letter declared Jahmaar ineligible for victim compensation because his “conduct contributed” to his injuries. The crash report says he “failed to yield.”

Eleska Moore, February: “My son was the victim. He was not the problem; he was the victim.”

We contacted the Florida Attorney General’s Office, and they told us they would reach out to Eleska about Jahmaar’s case. They did, and that’s when things changed — quickly.

Eleska Moore: “‘Praise God. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father God.’ That was the first thing that I said.”

Two weeks after our story aired, there was another letter. This one said Jahmaar was eligible for money paid to crime victims.

And on Monday, Eleska got a check for $47,500.

Eleska Moore: “I do believe the story did have some impact. It did validate that he was a victim, because in the first initial report, they said he contributed to the accident. And that just bothered me.”

Eleska is grateful the state reversed its decision, and for the Miramar Police Victim Services Unit.

Valerie Menard, victim advocate program coordinator: “I’m just happy for Mom that she got some relief, some financial relief.”

Eleska Moore: “They did fight. They did fight to help me.”

And she encourages Jahmaar to keep fighting, too.

Eleska Moore: “You will walk again. You will talk again. You will be Jahmaar again, and I just have to keep telling him that.”

A message of love and hope for this soldier and father who turns 33 on Saturday.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

The case against the man charged with hitting Jahmaar is still moving its way through the Broward court system.

Florida Attorney General’s Office statement:

“Regarding the Williams’ claim, based on the additional information provided to our office, we were able to address whether the injured claimant merited compensation and complete our analysis to determine the award.”

National Guard statement:

“We appreciate your sharing this documentation and your interest in this courageous service member’s status. We are looking into the exact status of Staff Sgt. Williams’ packet, but in the interim the Florida National Guard would like to convey our deepest sympathies to Staff Sgt. Williams and his family. It was a tragic accident, and the men and women of his unit, the 927th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, have done a number of things to help ease the family’s pain, most notably raising more than $15,000, but also assisting the family to establish legal guardianship, enrolling Staff Sgt. Williams in Tricare Reserve Select, and helping with the Traumatic Injury Protection claim. Additionally, the Florida National Guard Foundation provided financial assistance to the family by providing for the mother’s lodging and food while she was in Florida following the accident.

The Florida Army National Guard is required to conduct a medical evaluation board by the regulations outlined in the letter you shared, and those regulations also specify required physical capabilities of the service member. These regulations are binding upon the Florida National Guard, and the appeal authority is with the U.S. Army Physical Evaluation Board at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.

As soon as we understand the exact disposition of Staff Sgt. Williams’ discharge packet, we will follow up with that information. Again, thank you for your interest and support.”

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Meet South Florida’s latest influencer.

Jaime Arslan, raccoon mom: “In Miami, he’s kind of known as a little bit of a fashionista.”

Louie the Raccoon is on a mission: to brighten social media, one viral video at a time.

Louie’s Instagram page has more than 373,000 followers.

Jaime Arslan: “That was never my intention to, like, make this raccoon influencer, but it kind of happened.”

Although Louie is a lot of fun, his story actually started with tragedy.

Jaime Arslan: “It began in 2021. My dad was in a car accident, and he passed away.”

Jaime Arslan, a former vet tech, started volunteering with a wildlife rescue to deal with her loss.

Jaime Arslan: “I took Louie under my wing, and I channeled all this grief that I had for my dad, and I put it all into taking care of him.”

Louie needed a home, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Jaime has since taken in three other raccoons: Lucy, Leo and Lea.

None of them could have been safely released back into the wild.

Heather Walker: “You’re a mom to four raccoons.”

Jaime Arslan: “Yes, I am a raccoon mom. Full-time.”

The foursome live and play inside and outside the family’s Southwest Miami-Dade home.

Jaime Arslan: “This is their playroom, so they spend every night in here.”

Their playground even has swimming pools.

Heather Walker: “They have a great life.”

Jaime Arslan: “They do. They’re living the raccoon dream.”

Online, Louie is famous for his hats and hilarious antics.

While it all looks fun, owning a raccoon is serious business.

It is legal in Florida, but it requires a permit. You cannot simply take one from the wild.

Jaime Arslan: “At the end of the day, a raccoon is a wild animal.”

Part of Louie’s Instagram page is used to educate people and change the perception of raccoons.

Jaime Arslan: “They have this reputation for loving trash. They actually love eating fruits and vegetables, and not a lot of people know that.”

Another myth is that all raccoons have rabies. They don’t. In fact, they can get rabies from other animals.

Not only does Louie enlighten people about raccoons, he also encourages followers around the world.

Jaime Arslan: “A lot of people say that Louie inspires them to feel good about themselves because Louie is kind of curvy, so he’s very body positive.”

Even social media influencers need their down time. Louie’s peaceful place is up in this tree in the family’s backyard. Jaime says he spends hours up there almost every day.

Given his large and loyal following, Jaime says some companies have wanted to pay Louie to endorse their products.

Heather Walker: “You’ve had bedding companies, toy companies, cat litter companies all trying to pay a raccoon.”

Jaime Arslan: “Yes.”

But Jaime prefers to pay it forward. All of the proceeds from the sale of Louie and Lucy’s paintings — yes, they paint — go to a Florida-based organization that rehabilitates injured wildlife. Giving back, just like Jaime’s dad did.

Jaime Arslan: “He would have loved to see all of this. He would have been so impressed. I feel like just as much as I saved Louie, he kind of saved me.”

Heather Walker, 7News.

Louie is also in the final round of a competition to be this year’s Cadbury Easter Bunny. He’s the first raccoon to ever enter the contest. The winner will be announced on Monday.

Watch more of Louie, Lucy, Leo and Lea 
instagram.com/louietheraccoon

Loki vs. Louie: Vote for the 2024 Cadbury Bunny
instagram.com/p/C40o6mtsUyP

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com

This is what Robert Heath woke up to in January.

Robert Heath, resident: “‘Bam,’ my back windshield is completely shattered, and it’s shattered so badly that the little tiny microscopic bits of glass [got] all into the back seat, some into the front seat.”

And over time, his car has been dinged and dented.

This damage was not caused by road debris or vandalism, but by golf balls.

Robert Heath: “These are just a few picked up in the last few months. One of these, though, broke the windshield.”

One of these also broke his neighbor’s windshield.

Nancy Taylor, resident: “I didn’t know what had happened. And two of the residents were walking by, and they said, ‘Oh, you were just hit by a golf ball.'”

Robert and Nancy live in Park Place in Pembroke Pines. The buildings in the condo complex are surrounded by this city-owned golf course.

Nancy Taylor: “The grounds are beautiful, with the exception of the hazard golf course.”

Bad swings can send golf balls flying into their community.

It’s a persistent problem, but not a new one. Just ask longtime resident Florence Hirsch.

Florence Hirsch, resident: “I’m living here 31 years. When I moved in, within the first month, the front window of my car, the back window of my car and three windows in my apartment.”

But what concerns them most is not their property, but their safety.

Florence Hirsch: “If that golf ball hits one of the people, they’ll never get up again. I do believe that. Those golf balls are coming at a hefty speed, and these people are too old to take it.”

Nancy Taylor: “I see what it did to my windshield, so I can imagine what it would do to my skull.”

Two residents say they have already had close calls.

Marcia Storm, resident: “It just missed me. I’m taking another step, and it would have hit me right in the head. Really. That’s the one time I got scared.”

Charles Heighter, resident: “It’s scary. It’s scary.”

Charles Heighter was walking with his grandchildren.

Charles Heighter: “I told them, I said, ‘Look out for golf balls.’ And right when I said that, here comes a golf ball. So, if we would have been a little further, it would have got one of us.”

We took residents’ concerns to the city, but it turns out, when a condo is surrounded by a golf course, finding a hole-in-one solution is very difficult.

Heather Walker: “What came first, the golf course or the condos?”

Christina Sorensen, Pembroke Pines Assistant City Manager: “Golf course.”

Assistant City Manager Christina Sorensen says the course was designed with larger trees and hedges. Still, she says, they can’t stop every errant golf ball.

Christina Sorensen: “Is the City of Pembroke Pines concerned about the safety of its residents? Yes. But there is an inherent risk living next to a golf course. It’s not something that we get calls about every single day. It happens every once in a blue moon.”

But residents say golf balls routinely sail into their complex, and they feel something more needs to be done.

Nancy Taylor: “I may see, at least four days a week, I’ll see a golf ball inside the community.”

Robert says he would like to see more netting installed and maintained.

Robert Heath: “It would mitigate, especially if you put it in the worst areas.”

Christina Sorensen: “I’ll commit to contacting the [homeowners association] for Park Place and just seeing if there’s anything that maybe they haven’t thought of that they can help their residents with.”

A conversation that could at least be a swing in the right direction.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Griselda Blanco was known as “The Black Widow” and “The Godmother.” She was responsible for creating one of the most profitable drug empires ever. Right here in Miami.

7News covered her court hearings back in the ’90s.

Judge, Sept. 1994: “Would you tell the lady, please, that she’s charged with first-degree murder?”

But until now, very few had heard of the woman who helped bring Griselda down: Metro-Dade Police Detective June Hawkins.

Actress Juliana Aidén Martinez is playing Hawkins in the Netflix series, “Griselda.”

Juliana Aidén Martinez: “I had never heard about someone from our community, a woman, protecting our community.”

Juliana now lives in Los Angeles but grew up in South Florida, and she got a chance to meet the now-retired sergeant as she prepared for her role.

Juliana Aidén Martinez: “She said, ‘A-ha, like Hialeah girl, you’re a Hialeah girl,’ and I was like, ‘You understand what that means,’ and she was like, ‘We’re going to get along great.'”

Juliana worked closely with Hawkins throughout the filming. She says it really helped because there were very few mentions of Hawkins in the news at that time.

Hawkins has stayed out of the spotlight even to this day, despite her major role in taking down Blanco.

Paul George, historian, HistoryMiami Museum: “Well, it’s amazing, because she brought down one of the biggest drug lords, you know, not only in the city, but in the area, in the whole hemisphere at that point.”

Paul George is a local historian. He says that at the time, many cops were paid off with cash and cocaine, but June stayed on the right side of the law.

Paul George: “It’s phenomenal. It’s like a cross between Saint Joan of Arc and Mother Teresa, somebody so noble as this, what was the most unlikely person to break up, to some degree, the most precocious of all the ranks.”

And it’s ironic that a single mom ended up taking down Miami’s biggest drug lord, who was also a woman.

Juliana Aidén Martinez: “It centers on this rise of these two women, saying like, ‘You’re going to respect me,’ and they rise in power, and it’s two sides of the same coin. June is an example of using your power and using your abilities to make a positive impact.”

An impact that is now being documented.

Heather Walker, 7News.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

A small home, in a big development, at the center of a Coral Gables controversy, once again.

Orlando Capote, homeowner: “Definitely trying to make my life difficult so that I will leave.”

At a recent commission meeting, Mayor Vince Lago wondered which news outlet aired the latest story about the city’s famously defiant resident.

Mayor Vince Lago: “I’m not sure which channel it was.”

It was 7News that aired a story about a “notice of intent” to put a lien on Orlando Capote’s home. He was cited for a code violation involving this decades-old carport.

Orlando Capote: “It says that I owe them over $29,000 in fines.”

The notice clearly read the amount due was a whopping $29,958. Despite that, the city told 7News that “there are no fines on the property.”

So why the letter stating there was? The city now says, it was a mistake.

Coral Gables Assistant City Attorney Gustavo Ceballos: “Code enforcement didn’t enter in our extensions. We did them through emails. We were dealing directly with their attorney and, simply, our code enforcement system didn’t.”

Mayor Lago: “Honest mistake. It’s an honest mistake. But it flew like wildfire.”

Perhaps it flew like wildfire because every chapter in the Orlando Capote saga ignites passionate response from the public. And for the past 5 years, as the largest development in the city’s history began surrounding his home, we have been there to document it.

Orlando Capote: “I am in a bad marriage with the city of Coral Gables.”

But divorce is not likely. Orlando says he’s staying put in the home his late parents bought back in 1989.

Orlando Capote: “We came to America looking for the way of life, and this is not what has been done to me.”

Which brings us back to the carport, a structure not even visible from the public street and, Orlando says, it was here years before they moved in.

Orlando Capote: “As I told them, this has survived hurricanes and all the storms in the last 34 years. So when they look at the canopy cover, they say, ‘Well, that is not an acceptable cover.'”

Emails obtained by 7 Investigates in 2023 revealed the code enforcement case started after an employee for the developer complained to the city about conditions at Orlando’s property.

Orlando Capote: “This is what bothers me. What triggered this complaint was the developer.”

Fines of $150 a day started to add up, as Orlando and his attorney tried to resolve the issue.

Orlando Capote: “The city finally said, ‘OK, you can keep this structure,’ and that’s when we start trying to get the material approved.”

This is what the carport covering looked like when we visited last summer, and this was Tuesday, the day the new, city-approved cover was installed.

Orlando Capote: “This is not the biggest issue, and yet it’s being made a huge issue by the city. It has been a long, long, frustrating experience.”

But this battle ended in victory for Orlando. The cover passed inspection on Wednesday.

As for the future…

Orlando Capote: “I don’t think this is the end. I think they are just going to keep coming after me, making my life difficult.”

The city tells us, “Our goal is to work in a cooperative manner with Mr. Capote.”

Orlando Capote: “If you believe in something, wouldn’t you battle it and fight for it?”

7News Producer: “Forever?”

Orlando Capote: “Forever.”

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Fast cars. Dangerous doughnuts. And rapid gunfire. All taking place on the streets of South Florida, as seen on social media.

These dangerous drivers put all of us at risk on the road, and that’s why officers are trying to put the brakes on them.

We rode along with the Broward Sheriff’s Office to see how these illegal meetups go down.

BSO Deputy Rockne Arguello: “All right. So we may have one.”

Moments after getting in the car, Deputy Rockne Arguello was alerted to a meetup.

Deputy Rockne Arguello: “So, basically, this is an Instagram posting. It says, ‘MainMovement Fun Run Fridays.’ It gave an address up here in Coconut Creek, where we’re at right now.”

We went there and found local police had already broken it up.

Coconut Creek Police officer: “There were a bunch of vehicles here, different make/models, mostly racing type vehicles. They dispersed without incident.”

This meetup ended peacefully, but others have not.

Shazz Brown Mendez, Taiice’s aunt: “It seems as though it just happened.”

Forty-two-year-old Taiice Davis was killed when a driver left a takeover and crashed in Miami Gardens. A 64-year-old man also died, and five others were taken to the hospital.

Taiice’s Aunt Shazz still can’t believe she’s gone.

Shazz Brown Mendez: “She’s minding her business, and this was perhaps the happiest time of her life. She just came back from a fabulous vacation.”

The driver was charged with vehicular homicide. He took a plea deal and was sentenced to a year in jail.

Heather Walker: “He’s back…”

Shazz Brown Mendez: “…on the streets. She left four kids, and the little ones, they’re going to be growing up without their mom.”

Law enforcement is trying to crack down, making more arrests and writing more tickets.

In 2023, there were 2,485 citations issued statewide. That’s up 191% from 2019, when there were 854.

But law enforcement says the penalties don’t deter racers. The same drivers get back on the road after being busted.

Deputy Rockne Arguello: “It’s kind of like the cat-and-mouse game.”

Take this man, for example. Investigators say Jose Alfredo Martinez Jr. organizes these street takeovers.

A source tells 7 Investigates that even from behind bars, he’s continuing to set up events.

A new bill being considered by state lawmakers would stiffen penalties for street racing. Second and third violations would become felonies, and fines would be increased by thousands of dollars.

Shazz Brown Mendez: “It’s not going to bring her back, but it might save lives. It might deter some people from thinking about it.”

For Shazz and police, the hope is to make the streets safer for everyone.

On Friday, the street takeover bill passed the Florida senate without opposition. Now, it moves to the house. If passed, it would become a law this summer.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Oseas De Leon has worked at Miami Lighthouse for the Blind for 17 years.

Oseas teaches technology to his blind and visually impaired students, who may struggle to navigate a complex world.

Oseas De Leon: “So when they come here to the center, they are in shock because their life changed drastically, and I love giving them hope.”

Oseas lost his eyesight at 3 years old from a viral infection.

Oseas De Leon: “I don’t remember anything; to me, it’s as if I was born blind. I don’t remember any visuals, not even in my dreams.”

But what Oseas does remember from his childhood is his love for what the world calls “the beautiful game.”

Oseas De Leon: “My friends who were blind, they played soccer, and I learned to play soccer with them.”

Now, at age 45, Oseas is working to kick-start his childhood passion into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Oseas De Leon: “I love the competition. I love the experience.”

He is among a group of athletes from across the country who all share one goal. They’re competing for a chance to make the USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team.

Oseas De Leon: “My goal right now is to make it to the team.”

If you’re wondering how Oseas and the other blind athletes are able to play soccer without seeing the ball or the goal, Oseas has answered that question a lot.

Oseas De Leon: “My students, a lot of them are newly blind, and they’re like, ‘How are you going to run? How are you going to score a goal accurately? How are you going to do it?'”

They “do it” based on what they hear.

The ball itself has rattles inside, and verbal communication between players on the field is a key to this game.

Oseas De Leon: “If I want to go around you, and you’re my opponent, you have to say the word ‘voy’, which means ‘coming’ in Spanish. If you don’t say ‘voy,’ your team gets penalized, because if you don’t say ‘voy,’ I don’t have a way to tell where you are and there’s easily a collision.”

To make sure nobody has an unfair advantage, they must wear eye shades, because some players can perceive light.

The goalkeepers are not blind, and they, along with the coaches, help with verbal commands.

Unlike traditional soccer, fans must remain quiet, expect when a goal is scored.

Molly Quinn, CEO of the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, says the Blind Soccer National Team just started a year ago.

Molly Quinn: “This is a great opportunity for [Major League Soccer] teams, Inter Miami especially, to be able to look at how can they bring some resources in order to provide some more activities for folks who have maybe never had a chance to play the sport of soccer.”

2028 will mark the first time the USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team competes in the Paralympic Games, and Oseas is working hard to make that team.

Oseas De Leon: “That would be amazing. That would be great.”

But no matter what happens, his passion for helping others means he’s already won.

Heather Walker, 7 News.

This year’s national team is set to be announced in the spring, and we’ll let you know if Oseas makes it.

For more information about the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, click here.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

Sgt. Jahmaar Williams/2019: “You miss out on the first step, first words, very first moments of everything.”

This was staff sergeant Jahmaar Williams in 2019, holding his son before being deployed overseas.

Sgt. Jahmaar Williams/2019: “Not being there when he cries, not being there when he’s hungry, just the simple stuff.”

Five years later, the 32-year-old is now being cared for by his mother, Eleska Moore.

Eleska Moore/mother: “He’s not able to walk. He’s not able to talk. He’s not able to go to the bathroom. He’s not able to bathe himself. I have to brush his teeth. My son is 6’1. So can you imagine having a newborn baby that’s 6’1? That’s how it’s like.”

Eleska spoke with us from her home near Houston, where she brought Jahmaar to live.

Eleska Moore: “For me and my family, it has been a nightmare that you’re just not able to wake up from.”

Last year, on March 4, Jahmaar was trying to walk across Pembroke Road in Miramar, when he was hit, the driver took off.

Days later, his family pleaded for help from the public.

Eleska Moore/March 2023: “I’m asking any of you that know anything just to come forward.”

Jahmaar, a 12-year member of the Army National Guard was in a coma and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Eleska Moore/March 2023: “My son is full of life and to see him not be able to move, it’s extremely hard.”

Heather Walker: “As the agonizing anniversary approaches, Eleska says Jahmaar served his country but she feels he is being forgotten at a time that he needs support the most.”

Eleska Moore: “The first week in January, I received a knock on the door, which was a certified letter from the National Guard saying that they wanted to discharge my son.”

The letter says the reason for the “honorable discharge” was his “failure to meet medical retention standards”.

Eleska Moore: “This was no fault of my son, that he’s not fit for duty. Someone hit him.”

Eleska says a discharge would mean her Jahmaar would lose certain benefits like his military insurance.

Coverage that helps pay for a mountain of medication and special nutrition that Jahmaar receives through a feeding tube.

Eleska Moore: “If he loses his insurance, I’m going to have to pay $1,500 a month for his food.”

Eleska also got bad news from the Florida Attorney General’s Office. This letter declares Jahmaar ineligible for victim’s compensation because his “conduct contributed” to his injuries. The crash report says he “failed to yield.”

Eleska Moore: “My son was the victim. He was not the problem, he was the victim.”

Seven months after the crash, police arrested Tremaine Herbert accused of hitting Jahmaar and taking off.

Tremaine Herbert/October 2023: “No comment.”

7news Reporter: “OK, nothing to his mom?”

Herbert is charged with driving on a suspended license without insurance.

Eleska Moore: “He’s out. He gets to talk. He gets to walk.”

Jahmaar’s son, Israel, is now five years old.

Eleska Moore: “And his son is still like, ‘When is my dad going to be able to talk?’ What do you tell a five year old?”

Eleska understands that Jahmaar will eventually need to be discharged from the guard, but she’s asking the military to review his case so that he can keep as many benefits as possible.

Eleska Moore: “Jahmaar was proud to be in the National Guard. He loved being in the military.”

As far as what the future holds for his recovery.

Eleska Moore: “I’m believing God to do a miracle in my son’s life. I have to believe that. Jahmaar had a smile that lit up the world. Coming up on a year, I have not seen my son smile.”

For now, she continues to keep the faith that she will one day see her son smile again.

After we contacted the Florida Attorney General’s office, they told us they would reach out to Jahmaar’s mom about him being denied victim compensation.

Heather Walker, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

This is the Marian Sanchez Cuevas who people know and love.

Gabriel Varona, friend: “The person who would bring in the energy the second she came storming through that door was her.”

An energetic, athletic, outgoing 26-year-old, who graduated from Florida International University in 2022 with a master’s degree in finance.

Sahily Cuevas, mother: “Happy, she always was happy. The daughter that everybody wants to have.”

We spoke to Marian’s parents, Sahily and Eric, outside Jackson Memorial Hospital. It’s where they have spent countless hours at their daughter’s bedside for the past four months.

Eric Sanchez, father (translation): “Destroyed. I don’t have words to describe it.”

Sahily Cuevas: “The last four months, for us and the family, like, destructive. We don’t have life. Our life finished on September 24th.”

September 24th, 2023.

911 Caller: “A motorcyclist and his passenger just never made the turn, and just kept going straight, and they have slammed into the wall. They are both unconscious.”

Marian was the passenger.

Gwen Grayson, neighbor: “The motorcycle, you can see where it hit the tree there. The motorcycle went straight through these two signs.”

According to the crash report, a witness described the driver going “at a high rate of speed,” running a stop sign before hitting a curb in this Coconut Grove neighborhood.

911 Operator: “The police and the ambulance are on the way. They’re coming as fast as they can.”

911 Caller: “Listen, you’re not seeing what I saw, and you didn’t hear what I heard. This is bad.”

And it was bad. Marian had a portion of her skull removed to relieve pressure on her brain and was put in a medically-induced coma.

She has undergone 10 surgeries. Part of her leg was amputated, and she is not able to speak.

Sahily Cuevas: “I never heard in four months the word ‘mother,’ so imagine how we’re feeling.”

Marian’s friends and family are devastated, but they’re also determined to push the Miami Police Department for answers. They say the case has not been investigated properly, starting with the fact that the driver was never given a DUI test.

Gabriel Varona: “He was never tested at all, supposedly. That makes zero sense to me.”

Police listed Nicolas Araujo as the driver of the motorcycle. He is a rookie Miami-Dade County firefighter/EMT who was not on duty at the time.

The 28-year-old was injured but recovered — seen in a fire department video shopping for Christmas presents with children. Two months earlier, on the day of the crash, he was tailgating with a group of friends before the Dolphins game. In a picture with Marian, both had drinks in their hands.

Sahily Cuevas: “We have proof that they were drinking. It’s not fair. They were drinking. We have a lot of people that were in the tailgate.”

Marian’s close friend, who asked we not show her face, was at that tailgate.

Friend: “That morning, he was drinking, as was I. I can’t really speak on how much he was drinking, but I do know for a fact he was drinking socially.”

After the game, the group was driven in a rented van to a bar in Coconut Grove. Araujo rode his motorcycle there. He gave another woman a ride first, as she recorded on her cellphone.

Woman: “Another stop sign.”

You hear her say, “Another stop sign.”

Eric Sanchez, father (translation): “They can see in the background the speed he was going at that moment. How he ran through the stops.”

Marian got on his motorcycle just minutes later, and that’s when the crash happened. She and Araujo were both taken to the Ryder Trauma Center.

The family wants to know why he was not tested for alcohol.

Sahily Cuevas: “From my point of view, they didn’t investigate. They didn’t investigate.”

Miami Police tells 7 Investigates “…there was no physical evidence at the scene that indicated the driver was impaired, and “…they did not have any probable cause to ask for, or evidence, to obtain a warrant for a blood draw.”

We asked the department what else was done to investigate the circumstances that day. After we started asking questions, Marian’s parents were notified the detective wants to meet with them.

As they wait for answers, they also wait to see if Marian will ever recover.

Sahily Cuevas: “Only God, because she has too many damage in her brain. So, only God.”

So, for now, family and friends will continue to be Marian’s voice — because she doesn’t have one.

Marian is currently at JMH’s Rehabilitation Center, where they’re working to help her regain her ability to recognize people. Meanwhile, 7 Investigates will continue to push Miami Police for answers on this case.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The teen’s musical journey shines in today’s 7Spotlight. Here’s Heather Walker.

Thirteen-year-old Chris Rocha has been playing piano for about two-thirds of his life.

Chris Rocha: “My mom introduced me to the piano when I was 4 years old. So she would put stickers on the key notes that I would remember.”

Chris started taking formal lessons when he was 7, and with more practice, came more confidence.

Chris Rocha: “As time went along, and I participated in more competitions and concerts, it would become more easier for me to handle the stage fright.”

Now, he has plenty of performances under his belt — showcasing his merry musical chops at the Christmas tree lighting in Coral Gables and drawing onlookers with his impromptu international performance inside Rome’s airport.

Chris Rocha: “All of those are good experiences. But my favorite one is the one at Carnegie Hall because Carnegie Hall is a beautiful place that not everybody gets a chance to play there.”

Yes, the Carnegie Hall, in New York City. One of the most famous concert venues in the world.

In November, Chris found out he was a first prize winner of the “Golden Classical Music Awards” international competition.

Chris Rocha: “I was just jumping up and down, up and down. I was so excited.”

“Excited,” because that meant a trip to the Big Apple with his parents in December, and a chance to play in the winners’ concert along with other talented young musicians from across the country and around the world.

It was time for Chris, dressed in a tuxedo, to take center stage.

Chris Rocha: “It’s a song that requires preparation, but it was a song that I knew from the top of my head.”

Chris Rocha: “There were some parts that were powerful like, ‘bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah,’ but then some would be romantic.”

His two-minute performance struck just the right chord.

Chris Rocha: “Hopefully, I inspired the right feelings to other people, but I think I did, because a lot of people congratulated me and said, ‘Good job, random kid.'”

Chris usually practices six days a week, but only after the seventh grader finishes his homework and plays basketball. As for the future, whether his piano playing passion turns into a profession, remains to be seen.

Heather Walker, 7News.

To watch more of Chris Rocha’s performances, click here.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

What a difference a year makes.

Last December, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested a month after the cryptocurrency exchange he founded collapsed in stunning fashion.

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York: “This is one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”

Last month, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of conspiracy and wire fraud. A federal jury found he stole billions of dollars from customers, investors and lenders.

Investors like Alex Chernyavsky.

Alex Chernyavsky, lost money in FTX collapse: “It looks like it was a big fraud.”

The engineer, who is an executive at a manufacturing company in Hollywood, put a lot of money onto the exchange last year.

Alex Chernyavsky: “A hundred and fifty, yeah, $150,000.”

A hundred and fifty-thousand dollars, lost.

Alex said it was his first time trading in digital currency, but he trusted FTX, in part because of its celebrity endorsements.

For a short time, even the home of the Miami Heat was called FTX Arena, before the company’s name became synonymous with fraud.

But Alex does not feel sorry for himself.

Alex Chernyavsky: “There’s no anger; it’s more like frustration. Nobody put a pistol on my head. I did it; it was my decision.”

Alex is not alone. Americans have lost a lot of money in a wide variety of crypto crimes.

Check out these numbers: Cryptocurrency investment fraud complaints went from $907 million in losses in 2021 to $2.57 billion in 2022.

And following the money is not easy.

Brooke Watson, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida: “It’s just harder to trace, because it’s gone through multiple different exchanges.”

Federal prosecutors Brooke Watson and Ali Comolli investigate crypto crimes.

Ali Comolli, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida: “It brings us into some of the darkest parts of the internet. It brings us to other countries and sometimes places where records are hard to obtain.”

And it brings us to some pretty shady characters. Gal Vallerius, dubbed the Oxymonster, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a crypto-fueled, dark web marketplace for drugs.

Ali Comolli: “He came to the United States in order to participate in a beard growing competition, and while he was here, he was ultimately charged here in the Southern District of Florida.”

The FBI is still looking for Ruja Ignatova, known as the Cryptoqueen. She is accused of selling a bogus crypto coin that defrauded investors out of billions.

Ali Comolli: “They certainly take advantage of the fact that this is new, and people think it’s exciting.”

And crypto trading can be exciting. But it can also be devastating for those who aren’t careful.

Brooke Watson: “When it comes to a coin you’ve never heard of before, that’s where I think people really get taken advantage of and really need to be careful, do their homework.”

The age group most targeted by crypto scammers is 30- to 49-year-olds.

And social media is where new victims are hunted.

Brooke Watson: “Any of these, like online — Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook — if people are soliciting you to invest in their cryptocurrency or their exchange on those platforms, I would pause.”

As for Alex, he and other FTX investors are suing in hopes of getting their money back.

Alex Chernyavsky: “I still hope I can recover something. I have some kind of hope.”

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried faces as much as 110 years in prison when he is sentenced in March.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

References:

• What is cryptocurrency?
  The FBI warns of a spike in cryptocurrency investment schemes
• FBI guidance for cryptocurrency scam victims
• Increase in companies falsely claiming an ability to recover funds lost in cryptocurrency investment scams
• To file a complaint, visit www.Ic3.gov.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The cost of car insurance in our state is sky-high. But what’s “driving” the rise in rates?

7’s Karen Hensel investigates.

At home and on the road, it’s not only expensive to live in South Florida but also expensive to drive here.

Mark Friedlander/Insurance Information Institute: “While we’re seeing spikes in auto insurance everywhere, Florida is unfortunately worse than many other states.”

Actually the worst, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a research organization that represents the industry.

Mark Friedlander says Florida drivers are now paying an average premium of $3,183 per year. That’s 58% higher than the national average of $2,014.

Mark Friedlander: “Florida all of a sudden didn’t get bad. It’s always been bad. Now, it might be a little worse.”

Maria Garcia/driver: “No tickets, no nothing and it’s still going up. I would say like $40 more.”

Maria Garcia says that monthly $40 increase in her car insurance has her considering giving up driving altogether.

Maria Garcia: “Right now, I think the cost of living sucks big time. It’s not like it used to be. We struggled a little bit but now you struggle more.”

A “vehicle insurance nightmare” is how one small business owner described it in an email to 7Investigates.

He wrote that the premium for his truck and trailer went from $7,800 a year to almost $14,000 despite a “perfect driving record.”

So why are prices going up?

Mark Friedlander: “You can’t just point to one factor here in Florida.”

Things like insurance fraud, vehicle thefts and flooded out cars, pave the road for higher rates. But that is just the start of it.

Mark Friedlander: “More accident severity, more expensive repairs.”

Yet another reason, according to a Washington Post article last month, is “Florida’s ‘unscrupulous’ auto glass shops” that charge way too much to replace damaged windshields.

If insurers refuse to pay these inflated costs, the claims can go to court.

There were only 591 glass and windshield lawsuits filed in 2011.

This year, Florida hit a record with more than 46,000 lawsuits.

Mark Friedlander: “We all pay for that.”

Friedlander says rates can vary by hundreds of dollars, so shop around.

Other ways to save include safe driver discounts and bundling multiple policies.

Rob Kornahrens says his roofing company found a way to save on its 270 vehicles.

Rob Kornahrens/owner, Advanced Roofing: “Speaking to our insurance company, what else can we do? So we were one of the pioneers of putting cameras in our vehicles.”

Kornahrens says the cameras help deter fraudulent accident claims by other drivers. And while their rates have only gone up about 3% over five years, some companies are paying a lot more.

Rob Kornahrens: “I’m hearing the thing across the board with contractors that their auto insurance are going up in that range from 15 to 30% yearly.”

But whether the policy is commercial or personal, the high price of car insurance is driving people mad.

John Born/driver: “I mean, it sucks, but it is what it is. I mean, it’s the cheapest rate I could get.”

And piling higher priced car insurance, on top of already out-of-control living expenses, may be the breaking point for some.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

On a Sunday afternoon, inside a senior living community in Parkland, a few residents played Rummikub and poker.

Elderly man: “Ooh. Somebody’s going to have a full house.”

But the tables soon turned to a more tech-minded mission centered around teaching and learning.

Noah Smith, CLEO: “You go to Library, then you go to Albums again.”

And although here together, those in this room are generations apart.

Noah Smith: “I think it’s just great to build relationships with these residents.”

High school sophomores Noah Smith and Jack Rostock recently started the first Southeast Florida chapter of CLEO, which stands for Computer Literacy Education Outreach.

Saint Andrew’s School student: “You can go to the top and you hit File. You save it.”

The students, from Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, are volunteering their time here to answer questions about computers and cellphones.

Jack Rostock, CLEO: “‘How do I delete this photo? How do I delete this email?’ And it’s stuff we do every day. So, you know, we can teach them like shortcuts to really help them.”

Josette Zinglo, resident: “Today we we discussed my albums, how to make albums, and separate all my pictures that I’ve been accumulating for about 15 years.”

Four years ago, Lisa Green was hit by a car and suffered a brain injury.

Lisa Green, resident: “I need to know how to make columns for things.”

The 64-year-old said she used to be great with technology but now has difficulty with her memory.

Delaney, a high school junior, worked with Lisa one-on-one.

Lisa Green: “It’s wonderful, wonderful thing to have. We were always scared to come and say, ‘How do you do this, how you do that?’ And she had an answer for everything.”

Delaney Beighley, student: “My grandparents struggle with technology, so I just thought it’d be nice to help them like how I help my grandparents.”

Emma Smith, student: “OK, so look, you’re going to have to enter your password again.”

Sixteen-year-old Emma helped 93-year-old Mel with his Apple Watch.

Mel Niser, resident: “So if I want the weather, I can just press this?”

Emma Smith: “Yes, you can just press the weather, and it’ll tell you.”

Mel Niser: “It’s wonderful, because most seniors don’t ask for help.”

Mel even had time to ask Emma about TikTok but says he’s not interested in being a social media influencer.

Mel Niser: “I don’t have the time.”

Emma Smith: “I didn’t think he was going to have TikTok.”

At its core, this is not simply teen tech support. It’s about making human connections.

Emma Smith: “He told me all about his two grandsons and his daughter-in-law that he loves as a daughter. And it’s nice. It was nice to see his face light up like that.”

Noah Smith: “Last time, this resident was able to FaceTime her daughter that she actually hasn’t seen in person for years. So this interaction with her daughter, she started crying. It was a really emotional moment for her.”

Marjorie Kestenbaum, resident: “Absolutely fabulous, wonderful. I love young people.”

Both seniors and students hope to see this initiative grow.

Josette Zinglo: “It would be great, because there’s more of us, a lot of us out there.”

The student-led organization, which was started in Fort Myers in 2021, has about a dozen chapters across the country. And they are looking to grow, so if you’re in high school and interested in getting involved, click here.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

Tonight, 7 Investigates’ Karen Hensel, takes us along with the team trying to help those with nowhere else to go.

Miami-Dade Officer: “We’re here to do the operation tonight.”

These Miami-Dade Police officers are based at Miami International Airport.

The mission is not about arrests but about compassion.

Miami-Dade Officer: “We’re going over to the terminal first.”

We can’t show you some of their faces because they also work undercover.

On this night, they are teaming up with counselors Laquinta Walker and Rejine Henry from the Homeless Trust.

Laquinta Walker: “So they normally hide like in parts like that, they’ll sleep.”

The group is trying to help those living inside and outside the airport get into shelters.

Laquinta Walker: “Hello, how are you? Do you need any type of assistance tonight? Are you homeless?”

The man says he recently lost his home.

Rejine Henry/Homeless Trust: “He’s been out here for like 20 something days.”

Laquinta Walker: “Oh my God. OK, so ask him does it matter where we place him, what shelter?”

Originally from the Dominican Republic, he did not know a shelter was even an option.

Karen Hensel: “And why did he choose the airport?”

Laquinta Walker: “He came here because it’s a lot of police around so he knew that he would be safe.”

Still looking for work, he eagerly accepts a place to sleep.

Rejine Henry: “I’ll take you to a shelter.”

Man: “Now?”

Rejine Henry: “Si.”

Man: “OK.”

Laquinta Walker: “I realize that he doesn’t have a profile. I have to create him one.”

Karen Hensel: “And you can get him into a shelter right now?”

Laquinta Walker: “Yeah. We’re gonna do that for him right now. He just has to sign some paperwork and then we can transport him to the shelter.”

He will get one of nine beds available on this night. And that is what the program is about, getting them to a better place.

Detective Kalika Parker/Miami-Dade PD: “What we’re here to let them know is, it’s not a living space.”

The Miami-Dade Aviation Department says under county code “…It is unlawful for any person(s) to remain at the airport without a bona fide reason…”

About 30% of those offered assistance accept it. If they come back, they are issued a trespass warning.

An arrest is a last resort.

Detective Kalika Parker: “Once you build that rapport with them and let them know that we are here to help and not always here to arrest them, it becomes a little bit more easier for them to be more accepting.”

And this is not the only South Florida airport with this issue.

In November, 7 Investigates documented homeless people living inside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Rebecca/homeless woman (in video diary): “It’s about one and there’s just a lot of people tonight.”

Teams there also work to move homeless people into shelters.

Meanwhile, back at MIA.

Laquinta Walker: “Oh, she’s sleeping. I really don’t like to wake them up.”

This older woman was sleeping on a bench outside the terminal. She declined any help saying she was just waiting for a ride.

Laquinta Walker: “She looks like a regular you can tell. She said that she will not change her mind and… ”

Karen Hensel: “You don’t believe someone is coming to pick her up?”

Laquinta Walker: “No.”

But two more do accept help.

Laquinta Walker: “How long have you been out here?”

Man: “For a year.”

Laquinta Walker: “A year?

Laquinta Walker: “Are you from Florida?”

Man: “Yeah. Will I be able to sleep over there tonight?”

Laquinta Walker: “Yeah, yeah. We’re gonna take you now.”

Karen Hensel: “People really trust you guys. Why do you think that is? Is it because you’re in civilian clothes?”

Laquinta Walker: “I think it’s because we meet them where they are. We just walk up to them, we introduce ourselves, we tell them what we’re doing and the services that we offer. And I don’t try to be intimidating.”

Laquinta will personally drive them to the shelter. But their walk together symbolizes more than just one night, it is a commitment.

Karen Hensel: “What will you do to follow-up with him?”

Laquinta Walker: “So, since I’m an outreach case manager, like he has me for life, as long as he needs me.”

A lifeline for the homeless so they can have a safe departure.from the airport.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Pastor Howard McCall: “What we are facing now, we really need you, Lord!”

The power of prayer before a packed house this week.

Pastor Howard McCall: “We come to stand together.”

Stand together — and fight together.

At issue: the future of the historically Black Westview Community Cemetery in Pompano Beach. Last year, this 4.5-acre portion of the property was sold to a developer who plans to build an industrial office complex on the land.

But some longtime residents have grave concerns.

Sonya Finney, resident: “We were told that back in the day, that that’s where they would bury babies and put them in a box, not in a casket. And they would bury them there.”

Ninety-one-year-old Elijah Wooten says he believes the bodies of poor people are buried there in what he calls “paupers’ graves,” unmarked, from the 1950s and ’60s.

Elijah Wooten, resident: “Bodies were being placed in there before I had finished high school. They were placed in there.”

Elijah knows the history because he is a lifelong resident, and for 20 years, he was chairman of the board overseeing the cemetery.

Elijah Wooten (speaking at Nov. 15 Pompano Beach Planning and Zoning Board meeting): “Bodies were placed there.”

He was among those who spoke out against the development at a city meeting last month.

Resident (speaking at board meeting): “I got one word to say: deny.”

The nonprofit that runs the cemetery sold part of it to the developer for $1.1 million, but before construction can begin, the city has to agree to rezone the land.

And that is at the heart of this latest battle.

Kevin Eason, resident (speaking at board meeting): “That land was set aside for burial use only, only. Now, if you purchased it, what you did — you purchased a cemetery.”

In recent years, 7 Investigates has reported on the troubles at the crumbling cemetery, filled with broken headstones and sinking burial vaults.

At the city meeting in November, an attorney for the developer said the purchase deal includes money to repair and maintain the cemetery.

And he acknowledged the controversy.

Keith Poliakoff, attorney for developer (speaking at board meeting): “We totally recognize, fully recognize, the raw emotions and the feelings of the community.”

The developer hired a company to scan for graves twice, using ground penetrating radar.

Keith Poliakoff (speaking at board meeting): “Did every inch of that property, and they found no burials were ever occurred on that property.”

Elijah Wooten disagrees — and says he even gave a sworn statement.

Elijah Wooten: “I told them dead bodies were placed there. It was there, it was there.”

Karen Hensel: “Bodies?”

Elijah Wooten: “Bodies.”

The board recommended unanimously to the city commission to deny the rezoning — a win for these residents.

But clearly, this land battle is not over.

Keith Poliakoff (speaking at board meeting): “The ownership will go back to the drawing board, if it has to, and it will say, ‘OK, fine, if we have to turn this into a waste transfer station under the code, that’s what we’ll do.’ And sometimes, you know, you better be careful what you ask for.”

A lawsuit to block the sale of the 4.5 acres in the first place failed. Now, a new lawsuit has been filed questioning who is legally in charge of this cemetery. Bottom line: the controversy may move from a cemetery back into a courtroom in 2024.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

On Jan. 31, 1957, First Lt. Richard McCombs was on a training mission when his plane’s engine failed.

The newspaper headline at the time: “Marine pilot safe in ocean ditching.”

Jimmy Gadomski, found plane: “He was able to put it down safely, but it was still a crash.”

The Marine managed to get out of his Douglas Skyraider, an attack bomber, just before it sank about a mile off of Key Biscayne.

Jimmy Gadomski: “We were able to learn that the pilot did survive.”

Florida divers Jimmy Gadomski and Mike Barnette were the ones who found his plane this past July, more than 66 years after the plane went down.

Mike Barnette: “We immediately knew this was something unique and that it had been undocumented.”

And they discovered it by accident, while testing a specialized underwater camera.

Jimmy Gadomski: “We’re looking at, and we’re like, ‘That’s an airplane, like, we’re looking at an airplane.'”

Then it was time for a closer look.

Jimmy Gadomski: “We jumped in the water right then and there, and then we went back again to document the rest of it.”

“The rest of it,” because the old plane was actually split in two, the cockpit and wings detached from the tail.

Jimmy Gadomski: “We could still see the guns on the wings of the plane.”

After the 1957 crash, the military removed the engine and dumped the fuselage in deeper water. It would remain hidden until Mike and Jimmy’s discovery.

Jimmy Gadomski: “I was able to do a photogrammetry model of it, which involves us taking a lot of pictures all around the aircraft, and it stitches together a 3D model of what we’re looking at.”

The technology reveals what the plane would look like back in one piece, but they wanted to learn more about its history.

Mike Barnette: “Trying to look for lost aircraft that were most likely, you know, operating out of the Miami area.”

Mike pieced together enough to learn the pilot’s name and then tracked down his family.

Mike Barnette: “I think we caught them by surprise.”

That’s an understatement.

Amy McCombs, pilot’s daughter: “I was in shock when Mike messaged me on Facebook and said that he had found my dad’s plane.”

Amy and her brother Mark spoke with us from Ohio.

Mark McCombs, pilot’s son: “We knew of the story, we kind of grew up with the story.”

They still have the life jacket and helmet their dad was wearing the day the 24-year-old crashed off our coast.

Richard died in 2022 at age 90, just a year before his plane was found.

Mark McCombs: “My dad was a very dedicated Marine, he was very proud of being Marine and took his aviation extremely seriously.”

Amy McCombs: “I just think the plane was found for our sense of peace. Two strangers that have really come into our lives and mean so much to us.”

Jimmy Gadomski: “We’re always looking for the next unidentified wreck or the next story to tell.”

One of those stories came last year when Jimmy and Mike’s discovery made international headlines: a large section of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986.

As for the family of the pilot who crashed into the ocean here, they say they would one day like to meet the men who found a part of their dad’s military history.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

Linda Ramos is working on finally getting back to business.

Linda Ramos, SUV stolen: “I’m a pilot car driver. I drive all over the United States, guiding the transportation of multiple variety of loads, as far as a big yacht to a Boeing jet engine.”

But on Aug. 9, Linda hit a major road block.

Her Ford Explorer — equipped with expensive features like a light bar, cameras and an “oversize load” sign — was stolen from her driveway in Dania Beach.

Linda Ramos: “There goes my car. They just drove off with my car.”

The thieves in this case stole more than an SUV. They put a major dent in Linda’s livelihood.

Linda Ramos: “I got hit in the pocket hard, because I wasn’t able to get back to work until everything got settled.”

It has been a difficult year for Linda, who has battled serious health issues and cares for her elderly mother. Losing her car, too, was more than she could bear.

Linda Ramos: “I tried to stay in control of the situation because what’s done was done. Was I mad? Oh, I was fuming mad.”

“Fuming mad” is no doubt a feeling shared by many car theft victims. But even if it has not happened to you, you still pay. That’s because Florida’s auto insurance premiums are currently the highest in the country — 58% higher than the national average, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Thefts are one reason why.

Undercover detective, Miramar Police Department: “In my experience, I would say auto theft is generally trending upward.”

This Miramar detective, who we are not identifying because he works undercover, says expensive cars and trucks with a lot of extras are especially attractive to thieves.

Undercover detective: “Generally, those higher trim levels are more sought after. Why? Because the parts are more valuable and they’re more luxurious.”

As 7 Investigates has reported, cars equipped with powerful Hellcat engines have been targeted across our area.

And big trucks, with big price tags, remain a big problem.

Undercover detective: “You’re not dealing with the regular, you know, jump-in-a-car-and-go-joyriding type of thief. When it comes to higher value vehicles such as these trucks, it’s generally more organized.”

The detective has been involved with recovering around 150 vehicles, worth more than $7 million, over the last five years.

All three of these trucks were recovered in October.

Undercover detective: “I’ve dealt with cases that have had vehicles’ VIN numbers changed three times.”

And in an age of mostly keyless driving, “push to start” can quickly turn into “push to steal.”

Undercover detective: “Some of the items displayed here are electronic devices which are used to overtake the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic system.”

The detective says one key to keeping your car is to make thieves really work for it.

Undercover detective: “If you can make the process more difficult, you might just well save your car.”

One way to do that: install a second GPS tracking device.

Undercover detective: “If these criminals are going to steal your vehicle, they’re going to disable the manufacturer GPS.”

Linda did not have a tracking device on her stolen SUV. It was found abandoned two weeks later, damaged and stripped of its expensive add-ons.

Now, three months later, her new Explorer means she’s back in business.

Linda Ramos: “Oh, driving that home was emotional. I really hope next year is super busy for me, and I can recover my money quickly.”

And on Linda’s street, all signs point to more eyes on her neighborhood.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

To find out which cars have the highest theft rates, as well as more tips on how to keep your ride safe, check out the following links:

• Most stolen vehicles in 2022
• Auto theft prevention tips
• Auto theft statistics
• VIN check 

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

John Browning Jr., homeowner: “There’s a lot of memories here. Yes, there’s a lot of memories here.”

This has been home for John Browning Jr. for decades. It was a gift from one of his sons, who was a former defensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs.

John Browning Jr.: “My oldest son bought the house back in 1996. He bought this house with money that he played football and made.”

He gave it to his dad, who has worked hard his whole life — detailing cars.

Now at age 76, John is the full-time caregiver for his disabled grandson.

John Browning Jr.: “Michael is mentally challenged, and he’s got cerebral palsy.”

Both his grandson and a second son live with him.

While he was not looking to sell his home, John was enticed when he got a call from MV Realty.

John Browning Jr.: “In fact, he called me about four times before I accepted it.”

The agreement: John got $1,465 cash in exchange for the company getting exclusive rights to sell his home sometime in the next 40 years.

John Browning Jr.: “I’m in a hard spot. I needed cash. That’s money you ain’t got to pay back, you know.”

But John did not know what he was really getting into — which was MV Realty putting a lien on his home. The agreement meant he could not sell, transfer or refinance it for the next 40 years without using the company.

John Browning Jr.: “I was getting ready to go through cataract surgery, so I couldn’t read a whole bunch of that stuff that he gave me.”

Signing the 40-year deal for quick cash was only the beginning of his home heartache. He was in debt, and because of the lien from MV Realty, he could not refinance his home, so he took out a large loan from a different company.

Now, faced with no way to pay it back, his only option is to sell his home.

John Browning Jr.: “I was doing the best I could. Just made a lot of bad choices, I guess. They got me, they doped me.”

John is not alone.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office has more than 200 complaints about MV Realty PBC and is suing the company, accusing it of operating “…a complex and deceptive scheme … with the goal of swindling consumers…”

The suit says homeowners were offered between $300 and $5,000 cash as a “loan alternative,” “in exchange” for them signing “misleading and confusing” contracts.

MV Realty says it operates in 33 states. Florida is now one of seven states taking action against the company.

John Browning Jr.: “They done trapped me into a whole bunch of stuff here that I didn’t even realize I was in, so that’s when I realized I was in trouble.”

John turned to a real estate broker for help to get out of the deal.

Margend Palacios, real estate broker: “He had to pay back, to be released, $13,965 penalty in exchange for a loan of $1,460. At the end of the day, they don’t deserve that money. It’s swindling, it was dishonest, it was something that has put this family in a situation where they didn’t need to be.”

John Browning Jr.: “I just feel real bad about the whole situation, you know, since I’m the one who got put into this for bad decisions that I made.”

On two days we stopped by the MV Realty office in Boca Raton, it was empty. We reached out to the company and its attorney and are still waiting to hear back.

In court filings, MV Realty denies wrongdoing and says what they have been doing is legal.

And, while a judge denied their attempt to dismiss Florida’s lawsuit, in September, MV Realty filed for bankruptcy protection.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Consumers with complaints about MV Realty can contact the Florida Attorney General’s Office: 
1(866) 9NO-SCAM 
MyFloridaLegal.com

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The Palm Bay Yacht Club in Miami and Palm Lakes in Margate could not be any more different. One is 27 stories, the other just four. One overlooks Biscayne Bay, the other is west of the Turnpike.

But what both condominiums have in common is financial strain set in motion by the condo collapse in Surfside more than two years ago.

Robert Norris, president, Palm Bay Yacht Club: “I knew right then, you know, our lives were all changing immediately, because our building was built at the same time that the Champlain was built.”

Robert Norris is the Palm Bay Yacht Club Board president.

Robert Norris: “We’re looking at a $33 million project for our 40-year recertification. So all of the board members felt the pressure.”

That project includes everything from concrete demolition and restoration to redoing balconies.

And those repairs come at a cost. The average assessment is around $140,000 per unit owner.

Robert Norris: “I can’t even begin to explain the number of nights that I couldn’t sleep because I knew that there would be people in this building that might not be able to afford it.”

And in Margate, some owners in the Palm Lakes Condominium can’t afford it.

Bonnie Underwood, condo unit owner: “You know, I’m kind of old to be homeless.”

Bonnie Underwood and the other residents are facing nearly $2,000 a year more in maintenance fees next year.

Bonnie Underwood: “It’s absolutely killing me, and I don’t think I’m the only one here in this association who’s feeling this, because the buildings are emptying out.”

Efi Barakakos, condo unit owner: “It’s tragic. People do not know what to do. They’re trying to sell their units, but where are they going to go? It’s very difficult.”

The reason for that difficulty is a state law passed after the Surfside collapse. It requires condo associations to collect reserve money for costly future major repairs like structural work.

Efi Barakakos: “We’re on fixed incomes here, and it’s very difficult for people to afford 100% reserves. We’re a four-story building, which is considered low-rise. We’re 11 miles away from the ocean. We can’t compare it to Surfside at all.”

David Podein, attorney, Haber Law: “I think it is a dire situation on the horizon.”

Condo law attorneys David Podein and Jonathan Goldstein are sounding the alarm.

David Podein: “Between skyrocketing insurance costs, the huge capital needs for the structural repairs and the mandatory reserve funding, we felt that there is this confluence of factors that could create a ‘zombie condo.'”

“Zombie condos” are large buildings that are mostly empty because many of the owners couldn’t afford to live there anymore.

Robert Norris: “I would think a lot of buildings in South Florida, that they’re just not to be able to do it. It’s going to be an Armageddon of some sort.”

Robert feels fortunate his association found financing for their $33 million project, which would allow unit owners to pay the assessment over time.

Still, he says, their insurance situation is a challenge.

Robert Norris: “We can’t get full insurance value for this building. This building is valued at $100 million. We’re only insured up to $20 million, and our insurance went up 60%.”

According to the Insurance Information Institute, associations have seen premium increases as high as 500%. Some are calling on state lawmakers to fix these complex condo problems. “Paradise Lost” continues Thursday at 10 p.m. with a look at tenants who say landlords are taking advantage of them in a tight rental market.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

“The Condominium Special Assessment Program is designed to provide funding assistance to help condominium owners in Miami-Dade County pay for special assessment requirements that arise from rehabilitation and repairs due to applicable building integrity recertification requirements.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1689262443911730

Tonight, we begin a series of reports on this issue facing so many.

7’s Karen Hensel investigates: Paradise Lost.

They look like tired travelers waiting for a flight. But take a closer look.

These people are actually homeless and they are living inside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Rebecca: “Well, since right now, I am completely broke, so I’m not going anywhere. Just going, hiding in different parts of the airport.”

Rebecca has lived here with her adult son and cat for almost a year. She says the airport is safer than the streets and overcrowded shelters.

Rebecca: “You got cameras everywhere. You’ve got police.”

She became homeless after her husband Brian died. She moved from Arizona to Florida for a fresh start.

Rebecca: “I left phoenix with $15,000. It goes quick.”

The job and apartment she had lined up, both fell through. Then she lost $3,500 in a rental scam.

Broke, she landed at the airport, homeless.

We first spoke with Rebecca in March. She agreed to keep a video diary.

Rebecca (in video diary): “I am losing hope on all of this, it’s just getting hard.”

Taking us inside the struggle and sleepless nights.

Rebecca (in video diary): “It is actually a little scary doing this because I’m literally hiding under a blanket.”

Even more terrifying, the idea she could be kicked out. It is a constant fear as more and more homeless migrate to the airport.

Rebecca (in video diary): “It’s about one and there’s just a lot of people tonight. There’s a group of like four, I think, that get themselves completely walled in. That’s usually when they get angry. When customers come out and they start seeing that many homeless people.”

Rebecca says she leaves during the day to stand in line at soup kitchens. At night she moves between terminals and the parking garage.

Rebecca (in video diary): “It’s scary out here. It’s after 10 p.m.”

Rebecca (in video diary): “Just a quick shot of us leaving one and heading over to three.”

A good night for her is when she can find a family bathroom to sleep in because the door locks.

Rebecca (in video diary): “This is us at a car rental terminal charging up the phones.”

She uses the Wi-Fi at the airport to apply for jobs.

Rebecca (in video diary): “I am sick of this. I want to go to work. I keep putting in job applications.”

At one point she did get a job, ironically here at the airport, doing what she did in Phoenix, pushing passengers in wheelchairs.

Rebecca: “I like customer service a lot. I like the exercise I got pushing chairs.”

But was fired a week later.

Rebecca (in video diary): “It’s about 4 a.m. My eyes are a little swollen this morning from crying all day yesterday.”

She believes the company found out she was homeless.

Rebecca: “It’s hard to go to interviews when you have to be here, when you don’t have a definite, permanent address. The address that I use for mailing comes back to a church for the homeless, so they pretty much put two and two together. And then everywhere I go, I’ve got to take everything with me.”

She kept some possessions in storage, but lost them when she couldn’t pay for the unit anymore.

Karen Hensel: “So how have you been doing since the last time we talked?”

Rebecca: “Up and down. I lost my storage. So I lost, I lost Brian’s ashes and everything else.”

But she hasn’t lost her faith and still goes to church every Sunday.

Rebecca: “I don’t really have anything else I can do but just keep trying.”

Karen Hensel: “How much longer can you keep this up?”

Rebecca: “I don’t know. I don’t like being here.”

Rebecca says Florida has been a living nightmare since she got here but believes she will eventually land on her feet.

The homeless are living at airports across the country. Right now, 108 are staying at the Fort Lauderdale Airport. But it’s not only the homeless who are struggling.

Tomorrow at ten in our special series called Paradise Lost, we look at the cost of home insurance forcing some to leave Florida.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Rebecca and her son have set up a GoFundMe page. If you’d like to help, click here.  

Diana Thar has congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. She needed oxygen and the help of a scooter.

Today she met us inside her Fort Lauderdale apartment building. But not long ago, she was sleeping outside.

Diana Thar, helped by Community Court: “Well, we lived literally on the street, on the concrete, for many, many months.”

Diana and her sister Carol were evicted last year and ended up homeless.

Diana Thar: “The most scariest moment a woman could ever have in her life.”

Last October, Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Michael Carabine found Diana sleeping on private property.

Diana Thar: “I could have been arrested by being on the property and charged with trespassing.”

But instead of handcuffing her, the deputy diverted Diana into a program that would change her life.

Diana Thar: “When they told me about it, I said, ‘I’ll do it.'”

“It” is Community Court. The specialized program launched in Fort Lauderdale in 2019, expanded to Pompano Beach last year, and is now set to start in Hollywood in January.

Despite the name, Community Court isn’t held in a courtroom, although it “does” have a judge.

Broward County Judge Florence Taylor Barner: “You know, there’s no fear, because there’s no judgment here.”

No judgment may seem like a surprising thing for Broward County Judge Florence Taylor Barner to say about her hearings.

Judge Florence Taylor Barner: “I know, but I am not here to judge anyone, what’s going on in their life. I just want to see what whatever I can do to help.”

And those in this room, care.

Judge Barner leads the proceedings.

Judge Florence Taylor Barner: “We do have a dentist that we can send you to as well.”

Nonprofits are there to help find people what they need, like housing, health care and jobs.

Judge Florence Taylor Barner: “The beauty of this court is putting all these folks in one room.”

Those eligible include nonviolent offenders charged with things like trespassing, disorderly conduct and public intoxication. The court also accepts walk-ins, meaning people not charged with anything, just needing something.

Judge Florence Taylor Barner: “I see children. I see full families come into community court.”

Those who follow the rules, and complete 10 hours of community service, get a graduation ceremony and their charges dismissed.

Diana had her trespassing charge dismissed.

Diana Thar: “They renewed my faith in people.”

People like Pompano Beach Social Services manager Cassandra Rhett.

Cassandra Rhett: “Diana has a degree in survival, a doctorate degree in survival.”

Diana Thar: “I probably wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for her. She was our guardian angel.”

Diana and Carol moved into their new apartment in May. She pays a portion of the rent from her Social Security. The rest is paid by a nonprofit.

Diana Thar: “I mean, that’s the first thing we did, was cried and said, ‘We made it.'”

Sadly, just weeks later, her sister passed away. Diana is grateful it was not on the street.

Diana Thar: “Yeah, we considered it our forever home.”

A reminder of the power of community — both in court and in life.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach Community Court
17th.flcourts.org/community-court
fortlauderdale.gov/government/departments-a-h/city-manager-s-office/office-of-neighbor-support/homeless-initiatives/community-court

This condo building’s surveillance video starts with a Miami Beach Code Compliance officer getting out of his car. Notice these two recycling bins, with their lids closed, in the alley next to the Nautilus Towers condominium.

But watch what happens next. The officer opens one of the bins and arranges boxes inside so the lid no longer closes. He then opens it again, stacks even more boxes and raises the lid even higher before walking back to his car.

Berta Flynn, resident: “Oh, ahh, interesting.”

We showed the video to Berta Flynn, a unit owner at Nautilus.

Karen Hensel: “Does it surprise you that a code enforcement officer would do that?”

Berta Flynn: “It does. Unfortunately, it happens.”

And unfortunately for the Code Compliance officer, a surveillance camera on the building captured him rearranging the recycling bin clear as day.

But what is not clear is the motivation behind his bizarre behavior.

Body camera videos and records obtained by 7 Investigates provide a more complete picture of what happened on that November day last year.

Code Compliance officer (in bodycam video): “Now let’s go ahead and take a picture of that.”

Turns out, the officer seen taking a picture of the overflowing container was training a new officer on how to identify and cite violators.

Trainee (in bodycam video): “Doing a sanitation detail on 41st Street. Garbage can overflow.”

But it didn’t end there. The pair came back later in the day and slapped a trash violation notice on the building. It gave the condo 24 hours to fix the manufactured problem or face a $300 fine.

When the property management company reviewed its own surveillance video, it alerted the city. Miami Beach Police conducted an internal affairs investigation and questioned the code officer.

Internal affairs investigator: “Now, you guys posted it. Why did you leave it posted on the building? Can you explain?”

Code compliance officer: “Um, that was poor judgment on my part. Um, you know, I’m very sorry about that.”

The employee, with six and a half years’ experience, told investigators he was teaching the trainee the basics of sanitation details.

Code compliance officer: “So that she has a full and complete understanding and she receives some quality training.”

But he did not tell the condo building, or his supervisors, that this was all just an exercise.

And although he said his intention was to help the trainee, he admitted…

Code compliance officer: “These actions were unorthodox and uncommon, possibly even wrong. I will not engage in this type of activity again, and I’m very sorry.”

As for discipline, the officer got a one-day suspension.

The city wrote: “Your actions have violated our organization’s policies and procedures and compromised the integrity of our operations.”

Karen Hensel: “The code enforcement officer ended up saying, ‘Well, I was doing training.'”

Berta Flynn: “Ohh, what a nice excuse.”

Meanwhile, our camera captured open trash and recycling bins all over Miami Beach — which raises the question: why stage one in the first place?

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

7’s Karen Hensel is in the Newsplex to continue our coverage.

He is an Israeli reporter sharing his own raw emotional moments, taking us behind the headlines of the heartbreak unfolding

In normal times, reporter Paz Robinzon covers just about everything for Tel Aviv-based Channel 13.

Paz Robinzon/Israeli TV news reporter: “From politics to fun to entertainment.”

But these are not normal times in Israel.

Paz Robinzon: “The only thing that I’m doing is the war for the last 11 days.”

Paz, who has been a TV news reporter for about 10 years, was born in Israel and has family here in South Florida.

Paz Robinzon: “Our friends in Florida, we are in the 11th day of the war.”

He spoke with us about how the war has impacted his life; both professionally and personally.

Paz Robinzon: “My grandfather and grandmother from both sides were in the Holocaust, and all my youth, I was hearing the stories and now, for the first time, I can see those stories here live in Israel in 2023.”

He reported outside a hospital at capacity with injured Israelis and took cover as air raid sirens blared in the city of Ashkelon near the Gaza Strip.

He interviewed these two children, asking them if they had a message for Israeli soldiers.

The girl’s reply: “Please don’t die and be strong.”

Paz himself was unable to hold back the tears while interviewing a 17-year-old whose home was burned down. He says her 85 year old grandmother was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists and is still missing.

Paz Robinzon: “That’s the time that I was crying for the first time in my life on live TV because she was so strong.”

Paz Robinzon: “You can smell the death.”

So many horrific stories began here at the site of the Nova music festival, where a reported 260 people were killed.

Paz Robinzon: “One of their attackers came to the toilets with his gun and started to shoot. One after one, after one, after one.”

Paz Robinzon: “What was supposed to be a huge festival with music and happy people, it became to be a death, a death scene.”

Paz lost two friends at the festival.

Paz Robinzon: “Both of them like music, both of them like to be free spirits.”

We asked Paz how he handles being both an Israeli and a journalist covering the war.

Paz Robinzon: “I don’t want to separate the things. I want to be an Israeli and I want to be a journalist, and I want to be Jewish, and I want to say in the things that I have on my heart and inside my head. We are doing our job and we are telling the stories, we are Israeli.”

Paz told us he believes journalists who are covering the war will eventually need mental health services because of what they are witnessing.

In his words, “every day we see death.”

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Karen Hensel has today’s 7 Spotlight.

These kids are not here to create viral videos or post on Instagram.

Carlos Aleman/teaches anime workshops: “This is their chance to disconnect from technology and social media and all that.”

What these artists are here for requires just a pad, pencil and a passion for anime.

Carlos Aleman: “Anime is just the Japanese term for animation. So they are very inspired by western comics. The way we love Japanese anime, they love Marvel and DC and all that.”

Carlos Aleman is an artist in his own right, creating these Asian-inspired paintings that burst with color.

Carlos Aleman: “Well, it’s not good enough Art Basel, so they say. There’s highbrow and there’s lowbrow and I’m just the regular guy. I’m not very sophisticated.”

A humble artist, who teaches the next generation twice a week inside the Sunrise Civic Center.

This is where kids and teens have an opportunity to share a unique South Florida experience.

Carlos Aleman: “I’m not aware of anyone else doing anything like this. There could be, but I’m not aware of it.”

We had a chance to watch as Carlos started drawing circles and lines on a white board. His work ultimately becoming quite the “character.”

The young, budding artists are clearly “drawn” to anime.

Ella/10-years old: “I like the language of Japanese and the storyline. Most of the storylines in anime, they’re pretty epic.”

Leia/11 years old: “I really like anime because of the story and the character designs. I watch a lot of anime and it like inspires me.”

Kayden/10 years old: “Art makes me feel so good sometimes. Like when I feel like really, really, really, really sad, I just draw something. I forgot all about it.”

Thirteen-year-old Dylainey has been coming to classes here for about six months.

Dylainey: “The Japanese style is more free. You’re allowed to do more of what you want it to look like.”

And that was clear as they held up their work , each looking different even though they were drawing the same character.

Sabrina/10 years old: “When I started, like I hated my drawings and now it’s like, really good. I like it.”

Carlos Aleman: “So if you’re a geek like me and many others, in Japan they’re called the Otakus, you don’t care what people think. You just go where your passion leads you.”

A passion that is now instilling confidence in these young artists.

Carlos Aleman: “It’s just amazing how good they get over time.”

Carlos Aleman’s anime workshops cost $12 per class.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

More Information:
Japanese anime workshops 
Carlos Aleman’s art

Parts of the video you are about to see are difficult to watch.

Investigative reporter Karen Hensel has the exclusive.

Jalisa Edwards was in a Broward courtroom, Monday morning.

Judge: “Ms. Edwards, good morning.”

Facing charges from a violent night with a man she had met on a dating app.

Karen Hensel: “Prosecutors see him as a victim. How do you see it?”

Jalisa Edwards: “He’s not a victim. I don’t see him, he’s a aggressor.”

It was Feb. 25, 2022.

The man you hear lives in this Plantation home. The woman knocking is Jalisa. They had just started dating.

Jalisa Edwards: “We went to his house. We watched a movie, and then we fell asleep for the next day for our date that we were supposed to have the next day. Yeah. So it’s a pretty simple night.”

But there was nothing simple about what happened the next night after it was clear there was no love connection.

Jalisa Edwards: “I dropped him off and then I sat in my car for a few seconds and I was like, ‘Wait. He has my belongings, phone items.’ I was like, ‘Wait, no. I have to get this stuff back. I can’t just disappear. I want my things back.'”

The man loudly and repeatedly demands Jalisa leave his home.

Man: “Get the [expletive] out of my crib.”

She does not and they argue about money Jalisa says she is owed from their day at a casino.

Watch closely. Just a minute into their argument, he pushes Jalisa. She pushes an appliance off the counter, grabs a knife, drops it and then this.

Jalisa Edwards: “Get the [expletive] off me!”

Jalisa, who did not have her cell phone, sits down at a table.

Man: “Get the [expletive] of my crib.”

Jalisa Edwards: “You have my property, you owe me money, call the police.

They continue to scream at each other and both hold knives at various times through the roughly 20 minutes of chaos. At one point, the fight moves outside.

Man: “Put the knife down, put the knife down.”

Jalisa is seen back inside the home first, throwing things around the room.

And once he comes back in, the situation goes from bad to worse

Jalisa goes at him with a knife.

They fight for control of the knife that he eventually gets and starts to stab her repeatedly as she begs for help

Jalisa Edwards: “Please, please help me. Please help me.”

The video shows him stabbing at her more than 60 times.

Jalisa Edwards: “I thought I was done. I thought I was gone. I thought, I thought about my mom.”

Jalisa Edwards in the video: “Please stop hurting me, please stop hurting me, I’m so sorry.”

Man: “I tried to call the [expletive] police.”

He is still on top of her when Plantation Police officers rush in.

Officer: “Get down, get the [expletive] down now!”

They cuff him but he was not the one who ended up with a mug shot. She was.

The man, who we are not identifying because he is listed as the “victim,” told police: “…I wasn’t trying to hurt her or kill her. I just really wanted her to leave my house…”

Officers wrote he had a “severed tendon in his right pinkie” and a picture shows a cut on his shoulder.

Jalisa Edwards: “My pinkie could have fully came off.”

Jalisa says she had three surgeries, got more than 60 stitches on her hands, along with 10 staples in her head.

Gordon Weekes/Broward public defender: “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Broward public defender Gordon Weekes says their client was the one fighting for her life.

Gordon Weekes: “There is absolutely no justification for that level of violence that he’s using towards her.”

Back in court, the man’s mother said the whole situation could have been avoided.

Victim’s mother: “I hope moving forward that she learns from this. Also, my son, I hope he learns from this.”

Jalisa decided not to roll the dice with a jury trial. She agreed to a plea deal of two years probation and must complete an anger management program.

Jalisa Edwards: “It’s something that did change my life. It taught me a lot. For one, just walk away.”

The Broward State Attorney’s Office called their offer “appropriate and fair” and said “the case was resolved in a manner that both sides found acceptable and appropriate, considering everything that happened.” Jalisa must still pay restitution for damages done inside the home and his medical bills.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Bella Duarte-Crespo was born with spina bifida. Over the years, the 16-year-old has had four surgeries.

Bella Duarte-Crespo, lost wheelchair on international trip: “My left leg is a little more smaller and a little weaker than my right side, because I’ve had to overcompensate my whole life when it comes to walking, or even just standing for long periods of time, I have pain.”

It’s why Bella needs this wheelchair, which also turns into a walker. But what happened in June, left her without a crucial piece of her life.

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “I’m low-key freaking out a little bit.”

Bella and her family left from Miami on an American Airlines flight to London to catch a connecting British Airways flight to Rome.

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “We’re like, ‘OK, my luggage goes straight to Rome, my wheelchair, we also want to go straight to Rome.'”

But Bella’s wheelchair didn’t make it to Rome.

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “We had to wait in line to file a claim. It was a whole fiasco.”

An Apple AirTag showed her wheelchair was still at London’s Heathrow Airport. They called the airport and both airlines.

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “The more we called and called and called, we kept being reassured that, OK, it would be on the next flight over, or the next flight over or, ‘Sorry about that. It’ll be on the next flight over.'”

It wasn’t, and frustration grew.

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “They’re like, ‘At this point, you should just buy a new one,’ and I was like, ‘You’re kidding, right? Buy a new wheelchair, when I’m in a foreign country?'”

The family was able to secure a rental wheelchair for Bella just in time for their cruise.

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “Without that safety net, I definitely would have been hindered and limited. Overall, I was still able to do a good chunk of the things, which I’m really glad for.”

It took 15 days, but…

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “Finally it arrived. Ironically enough, it arrived the day before we were coming back to Miami.”

Bella has long advocated for those with disabilities, and this time is no exception. But she didn’t want to make this just about airing her complaints to the airlines.”

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “It’s more about what can we do to improve rather than pointing fingers at people.”

In 2022, major U.S airlines mishandled more than 11,000 wheelchairs and scooters.

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “I am willing to be the voice for disabled travelers.”

Bella wrote an open letter to the CEOs of British Airways and American Airlines.

She proposed ideas, including an “innovative tagging system” and “dedicated case managers” to handle lost or damaged mobility aids.

Bella Duarte-Crespo: “I’m here to provide a solution, to collaborate and kind of make whatever airline decides to reach out, [make them] the pioneers for accessibility in air transportation, because this can be a huge movement.”

In a statement to 7News, British Airways said: “We’re investigating the matter and are in direct contact with our customer to apologize and address their complaint.”

American Airlines told us: “A member of our team has been in touch to apologize for her experience and thank Bella for her efforts to improve air travel for those with disabilities.”

Teresa Crespo, Bella’s mom: “Coming from a 16-year-old, that perspective, and the fact that she’s open to listen and include any other people with disability, that’s definitely a no-brainer in my eyes, of course. Then again, I’m the mother.”

A mother, proud of her teenager’s tenacity and passion to help drive change in the skies.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

Disability advocate Bella Duarte-Crespo’s open letter to British Airways and American Airlines.

U.S. Department of Transportation information on flying with wheelchairs and other assistive devices.

Karen Hensel has tonight’s 7 Investigates.

Errol Leath reads his Bible everyday.

He suffers from epileptic seizures and has difficulty speaking.

Errol Leath/mistaken for murder suspect: “I couldn’t like, correct proper terms or read properly, so I’ll often always read.”

Because of his epilepsy he can’t drive so he takes the bus. But his ride turned frightening when he got off the bus on July 19.

Officer: “You right there! Don’t [expletive] move.”

Within seconds, Errol is on the ground surrounded by a fugitive task force with rifles pointed down at him.

Errol Leath: “What did I do?”

Officer: “Don’t [expletive] move man.”

Errol Leath: “What did I do? I got epilepsy, bro.”

Officer: “It’s alright. Be cool, bro.”

Errol Leath: “I got seizures, bro.”

He repeatedly tells the officers he has epileptic seizures and repeatedly asks what he did wrong.

Errol Leath: “Check my pockets man. I got medicine, dude.”

When police check his bag they find his bible, ID, and seizure medication.

Officer: “Errol Leath. What’s your name?”

Errol Leath: “Errol Leath!”

Officer: “OK.”

That’s when they realize Errol is not their murder suspect. But police still have one more question.

Officer: “Why’d you start to run away from the police though?”

Errol Leath: “I didn’t thought you was after me!”

Officer: “Listen, you look like someone we’re looking for, OK? That’s wanted for murder.”

Errol Leath: “Murder?! I never killed no one in my life.”

Officer: “Alright, we didn’t say you did. These things happen. You look just like him. So.”

Errol Leath: “Dude, I see my neurologist this Friday.”

Police hid the faces of the task force members, including U.S Marshals before releasing their body camera video to 7 Investigates.

During the 13-minute exchange, Errol is visibly distressed.

Errol Leath: “I’m trying to recover from seizures man. Y’all are making this worse, bro.”

We met with Errol here at the bus stop where this case of mistaken identity went down. He ended up at the hospital that day afraid the stress was going to trigger another seizure.

Errol Leath: “I was going into a blurriness and that’s what slightly happens when you’re going into an episode.”

Once police realized they had the wrong man…

Officer: “Listen, it’s unfortunate, but you have, it’s almost like your twin brother.”

Officers explained.

Officer: “OK, it was a mis-identity, alright that’s wanted for murder, OK? So a pretty serious crime, which is why the way that we come out, is the way that we did.”

They also apologized.

Officer: “And these things happen sometimes. Like 99% of the time we get the right person but you look identical, which will be documented in the report, OK? And unfortunately, this circumstance happened to you. So, apologize for that.”

So who was the Fugitive Task Force actually looking for? This man. 40-year-old Daenon King, who three weeks later, was arrested, accused of shooting a 68-year-old man in the back of the neck.

Karen Hensel: “So this is the person that they were looking for.”

Errol Leath: “Oh my goodness”

Karen Hensel: “Do you see the resemblance?”

Errol Leath: “Oh, wow. That doesn’t look like me. That’s not me.”

In a statement, Fort Lauderdale Police tell us officers saw “a man with several identifying features that were similar to the suspect … in an area known to be frequented by the suspect.”

The department apologized to Errol. The full statement reads as follows:

“The Fort Lauderdale Police Department would like to express our sincere apology to the man who was mistakenly identified as a suspect being sought for a violent murder.

On July 19, 2023, FLPD’s Career Criminal Unit, working in conjunction with the US Marshals Task Force, observed a man with several identifying features that were similar to the suspect being sought for the murder. This man, identified later as Errol Leath, was observed in an area known to be frequented by the suspect. Mr. Leath was seen exiting a bus, saw our officers, and began to flee. Our officers had their firearms drawn because the suspect was known to be armed and dangerous. They detained Mr. Leath without incident and quickly realized he was not the suspect. Mr. Leath was immediately released from handcuffs. Detectives explained to Mr. Leath what had happened and apologized for the error. They additionally ensured Mr. Leath that the incident would be documented and explained how he could obtain a copy of the report if he wished.

The actual suspect, identified as Daenon Malik King, B/M, DOB 05/25/1983, was located by FLPD’s Career Criminal Unit on August 11, 2023. He was arrested and charged with the murder of Jackie Robinson Brown that occurred on April 5, 2023.

We recognize the impact this mistake can have on an innocent individual. We will continue to be committed to upholding the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and fairness in our policing efforts as we serve our community.”

Errol Leath: “I didn’t think it was me. I’m getting off the bus thinking they’re going after someone else. I’m trying to get out the way. I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy to go through that.”

A case of mistaken identity that has left Errol deeply troubled.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The sounds of burning rubber, revving engines and gunfire.

Dispatcher: “Female shot in the leg, male grazed in the shoulder.”

A combustible mix that ended with three people injured in Northwest Miami-Dade on Aug. 6.

Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, Miami-Dade Police Department: “We could have had multiple people dead.”

A week later on South Beach…

Witness: “Yeah, there was a good amount of blood.”

A man was beaten during another street takeover.

Witness: “As the guy was walking, he jumped off his bike and started wailing on him.”

And just this past weekend at an intersection in Miami, drivers were doing donuts in a ring of fire. Videos like this are often shared on social media.

It’s one thing to watch this reckless behavior caught on camera. But it’s an entirely different story to be an innocent driver literally caught in the middle of one of these street takeovers.

George Baraque, caught in street takeover: “They had very strategically blocked the entire tunnel.”

On July 17, George Baraque was driving home from work around 1 a.m. His dash camera recorded as he entered the tunnel on U.S. 1 near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

George Baraque: “Everybody in that tunnel was trapped.”

George couldn’t see the riders blocking cars, but he could definitely hear them.

George Baraque (to 911): “The southbound ramp is being blocked by a bunch of goons.”

George and other drivers called 911.

911 caller: “You’ve got racers doing donuts in the road underneath the main airport runway.”

George Baraque (to 911): “And I think I’m hearing gunshots. There are about maybe 250 cars blocked here.”

George Baraque: “This was a petri dish for all kinds of disasters, starting with somebody just inadvertently ramming in from behind and causing a chain reaction which might have resulted in multiple injuries or even a fire.”

Lt. Alex Camacho, Florida Highway Patrol: “We’ve seen it actually becoming a trend.”

FHP Lt. Alex Camacho says racers aren’t always arrested on the spot. But a tougher state law — and watchful eyes — mean police can catch up and eventually cuff those involved.

Lt. Alex Camacho: “We have analysts that are continuously monitoring all social media platforms.”

Street racing and stunt driving citations have spiked in recent years. Eight hundred and ninety-six were issued statewide in 2018, but by 2022, that number had more than doubled to nearly 2,000.

Drivers, race organizers, even passengers, now face possible jail time and their vehicles being impounded.

Lt. Alex Camacho: “The biggest thing is, don’t try to confront these individuals. These can be dangerous people within these groups.”

George, a former police officer himself, knew to stay put.

George Baraque: “I started seeing people getting out of the car and filming the actual event in front. I didn’t get out of my car.”

He was trapped in the tunnel for nearly 15 minutes … before police sirens were heard and this blockade came to an end.

But the signs of danger were left behind.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If you recognize participants or any of these vehicles — or have information about an upcoming street racing event — authorities ask that you email them. The address: StopRacing@flhsmv.gov.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

We headed out on the water off the coast of Boynton Beach, but this fishing expedition wasn’t for mahi-mahi, wahoo or even spiny lobster.

Our eyes were set on lionfish.

Nate Sorensen, Lionfish Extermination Corp: “The biggest problem with this fish is, it has zero predators in this area.”

Make that marine predators, because divers Nate Sorensen and Alex Borsutzky of Lionfish Extermination Corporation are a two-man creature catching machine.

Nate Sorensen: “The fact that we only target lionfish and our brains are triggered, focused on lionfish, that’s all we want.”

And it is the only fish allowed on this boat.

Alex Borsutzky, Lionfish Extermination Corp: “I tell you, it’s a passion for the reef.”

Reefs that have been harmed by a lionfish invasion.

Experts say they were first found along the Florida coast in the mid-1980s, likely released from aquariums.

And, as these red dots show, their numbers have exploded over the decades.

Alex Borsutzky: “Just eating as much as they can. It’s a free buffet for them. All they do is eat and sleep, eat and sleep and reproduce.”

That’s why Nate and Alex are out here at least once a week.

Alex Browning: “You feel like you guys are making a difference?”

Alex Borsutzky: “I think so. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

In late July, the pair caught something else: fire on social media.

Their TikTok videos have gone viral. A few racked up millions of views each.

Nate Sorensen: “Within 16 days, I had 100,000 followers.”

It’s now more than 170,000 and counting.

Nate Sorensen: “It blows my mind that people, everyone’s seeing this. I’ve had friends call me from across the country and say, ‘Hey, I’ve seen you on TikTok.'”

Alex Borsutzky: “Then you have the other comments where they say, ‘Oh, my God, you’re killing such a beautiful fish,’ and then you have to explain why we’re doing it.”

Nate Sorensen on TikTok: “It brings me no joy killing these beautiful fish, none at all. But they’ve got to go, unfortunately.”

From Goliath groupers to sea turtles, sharks to shipwrecks, the videos open a window into the underwater world.

One I got to experience diving with Nate. Propelled by a scooter, he used a pole spear to snag lionfish after lionfish after lionfish.

Even picking up a piece of trash along the way.

Alex Borsutzky: “Since we’re here, we might as well clean the reef.”

Nate Sorensen: “Sometimes, we get two to three times this in one dive, in a single time. We do five dives; add that up, and we’ve got 100 pounds in a day sometimes.”

With millions of views online, many are wondering, what happens to the lionfish once they’re on ice.

Alex Borsutzky: “Whatever we catch, we sell it to a restaurant.”

Nate Sorensen: “With the lionfish, are all these venomous spines. You want to make sure not to get poked. So the smartest thing to do is to just take a trimmer and clip them all off. This is just like any other fish when you’re filleting. And this is completely edible.”

Alex Browning (after tasting lionfish): “Mild fish. Bite with Belkys?”

And with every bite of a captured lionfish, more of our native marine life will get to survive and thrive.

Alex Browning, 7News.

Learn more about lionfish: 

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/lionfish

NOAA Fisheries
fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/ecosystems/impacts-invasive-lionfish

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

This is video from the night of April 12, as the Fort Lauderdale home of Joe Jarkesy flooded.

Joe Jarkesy, homeowner: “Water is coming in. It’s not stopping. Mopping isn’t doing anything.”

With the water rising, Joe, his pregnant wife, their two children and the family dog evacuated that night.

They still haven’t moved back.

Joe Jarkesy: “Yeah, you can see on the door. This is kind of where it was. Actually, a little bit higher outside.”

More than four months later, their home is still gutted. There are no sinks, no showers and no toilets connected.

Joe Jarkesy: “There’s no water hooked up.”

Nobody is using water inside the home, but the water bills keep flowing.

Joe Jarkesy: “I noticed that the bill that they had been charging me, it’s not like a big difference from my normal bill. It’s kind of in line, but it really should have been nothing.”

Since April, Joe has been billed more than $800 for tens of thousands of gallons of water.

Workers have had access to an outside hose, but Joe says there is no way that could explain the massive water use.

Joe Jarkesy: “So this is where the flood happened.”

Joe believes his bill spiked because of a water line leak that flooded the street on May 17.

Two days later, the city read Joe’s meter. They claimed he used 12,000 gallons of water that month and hit him with his biggest bill of the year: $266.

A work order shows crews found the “…water leak on city side.”

Joe Jarkesy: “It came from the giant leak that was happening in the street that was very close to my meter.”

Karen Hensel: “But should that leak be your fault?”

Joe Jarkesy: “They told me it was on their side.”

Karen Hensel: “So why should you pay for a city water main break?”

Joe Jarkesy: “Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

But the city says Joe did not pay for that leak. They say a leak at the meter on the city side would not register over here on Joe’s side. So, with no one living in the home, Joe still wonders how he is being billed for so much water he says he couldn’t have used.

Joe Jarkesy: “So I was really surprised that the city wouldn’t work with me.”

He contacted the City of Fort Lauderdale asking for a bill adjustment, but was disappointed by the response.

Joe Jarkesy: “I explained that there’s nothing hooked up. My house is gutted. There’s nothing but studs. There’s nowhere for water to be not only pulled from, but go into a sewer. But their response was very quick: ‘If it’s not 200% of your normal usage, there’s nothing we can do.'”

But there is something you can do.

Joe Jarkesy: “I think the story is important, because I think other people need to look at their bills.”

While the cause of Joe’s water woes remains a mystery, Fort Lauderdale says, if a home will be vacant for more than three months, residents should call the city to have their meter officially turned off.

But since Joe didn’t do that, he’s stuck footing the bill for what has been a flood of frustration.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Plenty of people are scared of snakes. Elle Barbeito is not one of them.

Elle Barbeito, fashion designer: “Burmese pythons, they are from Southeast Asia, and they’re a really beautiful snake, they really are. They grow really, really big.”

Big snakes that cause big problems ravaging native wildlife in the Everglades.

Elle Barbeito: “It’s a really intense environment.”

And it’s where Elle discovered her artistic passion back in 2018.

Elle Barbeito: “Because now my dad was hunting, so I was just going with him all the time, and just like, sitting in the back of the truck. I loved it. I just was like really obsessed with it.”

Elle, a South Florida native who went to fashion school in New York, says she became disillusioned with waste in the fashion industry.

Elle Barbeito: “I don’t want the things I make to end up in like trash or end up in a landfill or like have a short lifespan. I want it to be able to last a really long time.”

Which is why she chose to use python skin from her dad’s hunts as the material for her handcrafted creations.

Elle Barbeito: “I think just the whole process in itself, of just having to kill something and kind of bringing, like, a new life to its skin.”

Elle does her leatherwork in this warehouse, where she explained the process to us.

Elle Barbeito: “To preserve the skins, we start off by skinning it, and then you have to remove all of the fat and muscle. And then, after that, you put it into a solution. The most traditional method is with alcohol and glycerin, and once you have it in that solution for some time, you go ahead and stretch it out on a wooden plywood board.”

Once it dries, Elle begins her detailed designs.

Elle Barbeito: “There is a lot of work that goes into this. It is a lot of work. Especially with the stitching, I have people ask me that all the time, they’re like, ‘Oh, what machines do you use?’ I’m like, ‘This, this, every snake is different,’ so I think that’s kind of like the cool part.

From belts…

Elle Barbeito: “All the buckles are – I make them with snaps so that they’re interchangeable.”

To wallets and handbags, Elle even crafted a python skin bike and lawn and rocking chairs.

Elle Barbeito: “There’s a story to it, you know, and I think people really appreciate the fact that there’s a story to it.”

A story that begins in the Everglades, and one that sometimes prompts misunderstanding.

Elle Barbeito: “I’ve had people where they’re like, ‘Oh, my God, why are you doing this?’ And then they think I’m just doing it to all snakes, and once I explain what it is and they’re invasive, they’re like, ‘Oh.’ I think it’s more so people that are not from Florida that have a kind of a hard time understanding it.”

In May, Elle received an award from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for her work.

Elle Barbeito: “There’s only one Florida, there’s only one Everglades, and we need to preserve it, because once we lose it, we cannot get it back. I love this state, and I’m very thankful to be here and thankful for this award.”

Elle Barbeito’s inspiration for her designs actually comes from Western wear, but always combined with that only-in-Florida feel of the Everglades.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

To view Elle’s work, click here.

If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

Orlando Capote, homeowner: “It was our American dream.”

Orlando Capote’s dream turned into a nightmare.

As 7 Investigates first reported in 2019, the largest development in Coral Gables history was being built around his longtime family home.

Orlando Capote: “The city of Coral Gables. Of the people, by the people, for the developers.”

Orlando has long maintained the city allowed The Plaza Coral Gables to build too high and too close to his home. But his latest headache isn’t the tall buildings. It’s this decades-old metal structure in his driveway. He fears it could ultimately lead to him losing his home.

Orlando Capote: “I am in a bad marriage with the city of Coral Gables.”

The latest drama started with a violation warning Orlando received in November, citing a “chain-link fence and awning in disrepair.”

Karen Hensel: “They had a complaint about what’s way back here?”

Orlando Capote: “Yes, the chain-link fence that was broken. Cut the section of fence out, and that was it.”

Karen Hensel: “That’s what they wanted to start fining you over?”

Orlando Capote: “One of the things, yes.”

The other is what the city refers to as the “awning,” this metal structure where he parks his car.

Orlando Capote: “So when they look at the canopy cover, they say, ‘Well, that is not an acceptable cover. Oh, by the way, there is no permit on record for the canopy. You have to remove the structure.””

Orlando says it was already here in 1989 when his parents bought the home.

Orlando Capote: “As I told them, this has survived hurricanes and all the storms in the last 34 years.”

June 21st Code Enforcement Board hearing: “And how do you plead, sir?”

Attorney: “He pleads not guilty.”

In June, Orlando and his attorney argued their case in front of the Code Enforcement Board. That’s where Orlando pointed out the canopy is not even visible from the public street.

One board member questioned whether the officer saw the violations himself, or if someone had complained.

Code enforcement officer: “It did come from a complaint. I can’t remember the exact name, but it was from someone in the Agave project.”

Agave Ponce is the developer. Emails obtained by 7 Investigates reveal that in October, an Agave employee complained to the city about things on Orlando’s property, like “overgrown grass,” “cats roaming” and “structures/rusting with no awnings.”

Agave’s managing director also emailed, “…we have grave concerns on the poor condition of the property…”

Orlando Capote: “Now that I see that every attempt that I have made to comply, to correct the situation, to avoid the fines, is now looking more and more like what the developer is doing is using the city to take my property from me.”

To Orlando, who was born in Cuba, this place has always been more than walls and a roof. It was his father’s dream home and where Orlando lived with his elderly mother until she passed away.

Orlando Capote: “We came to America looking for the way of life, and this is not what has been done to me.”

The city says Orlando “failed to comply,” even after the board gave him “30 days to rectify.”

Karen Hensel: “They’re going after a 34-year-old structure.”

Orlando Capote: “Correct, and after that, they might come after something else and something else.”

As of last weekend, he’s being fined $150 a day, racking up more than $1,000 a week. Karen Hensel, 7News.

7 Investigates reached out to the developer for comment, but we have not heard back.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Their names are Bella, Andor and Spike. Three of the 40 wild, vervet monkeys living near the Fort Lauderdale airport.

They have been here since the 1940s, when their ancestors escaped a Dania Beach research facility.

But recently, they have become the target of death threats posted on Facebook.

One person wrote: “I am planning on putting out some fruit cups, with rat poison for the monkeys!”

Another commented: “I wanna go monkey hunting!!” To which someone replied: “I’m down, let’s roll at dawn.”

Dr. Missy Williams, biologist: “I was appalled.”

Dr. Missy Williams is a biologist who has studied the monkeys extensively.

Dr. Missy Williams: “Primates are highly social in nature, so each group does have a group of females that are all related. So you have grandma, moms, aunts, sisters, etc.”

Karen Hensel: “And they stay together like any other family.”

Dr. Missy Williams: “Absolutely.”

But as 7 Investigates has reported, some male monkeys have left the colony over the years. They have been spotted in North Miami Beach, Aventura and North Perry Airport.

While they are non-native to Florida, vervets are not invasive as opposed to iguanas and pythons.

Dr. Missy Williams: “They are not causing any damage to the native ecosystem. Not aggressive, we’ve had zero reports of aggression reported in the last 10 years that I’ve been here.”

But now, threats of human aggression have rattled Dr. Williams.

Dr. Missy Williams: “To actually start to threaten violence via trespassing, to poison the animals or to shoot on sight, that’s just horrible.”

It all started when a Hollywood resident posted this picture online, saying “Yep. There was a monkey on my roof.”

But things escalated after a trapping company named Iguana Lifestyles reposted it, saying: “The vervet monkeys in Dania Beach are now making their way to Hollywood. These non-native species carry and spread diseases like no other.”

Dr. Williams says that is not true.

Dr. Missy Williams: “So for people to think that all monkeys carry herpes B, that’s not true at all. If they were infected with herpes B, they would die. These monkeys do not carry rabies, so for people to think that they’re spreading disease is very erroneous, and we have the data to show that.”

The online post prompted more than 200 responses.

Many defended the monkeys, writing: “This post is false and will get people along with animals hurt” and “So much stupid in one place.”

We asked Iguana Lifestyles owner Harold Rondan about the fallout from his post.

He told us by phone he made a second post apologizing this was getting out of hand.

It reads, “Sorry if people are taking this the wrong way” and to “…not shoot these monkeys.”

He initially agreed to an on-camera interview but then stopped returning our calls.

Meanwhile, security cameras keep constant watch over the monkeys and the Broward Sheriff’s Office has an “active criminal investigation” into the threats.

Dr. Missy Williams: “We have college students here, and we also have research assistants, so all of them have expressed concern, about coming onto site and should they worry about their safety.”

And if someone did hurt or kill these vervet monkeys, BSO says they could be charged with animal cruelty, which could mean time behind bars. Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Thousands of people use I-95, including Greg Vella, who makes the drive to work every day from Broward County to Miami Beach.

Greg Vella: “I’d rather live closer to family and take a longer commute than live closer to work and have to commute to see family.”

But when Greg started to notice new charges on his SunPass account, he started asking questions.

Turns out, he was being billed for driving in the express lane when he was actually driving in the lane next to it.

He alerted SunPass.

Greg Vella: “‘You have a transponder somewhere that’s activating and billing me, even though I’m not in the lane, just letting you know.'”

The toll cameras also took pictures of his car, and those clearly show he was driving to the right of the express lane dividers.

Greg Vella: “So it’s very easy for me to see in the image from SunPass that I wasn’t even in the lane, and I just kind of showed them that and was like, ‘You can see it in your own picture.'”

For added proof, Greg also hit record on his own dashcam to document his drives.

Greg Vella: “In case SunPass was like, ‘Oh well, we don’t have proof, or this and that.’ I was like, ‘Well, I got the proof. I can prove that I wasn’t in the lane.'”

Greg says he wasn’t charged much, just 50 cents each way, but for him, that’s not the point.

Greg Vella: “I mean, think about it. Thousands of people before and after me that are doing this. Each one is getting billed the 50 cents. And what’s even worse is, imagine you’re the guy who is not in the express lane, and you’re stuck in traffic, and all the people in the express lane are going nice and fast through there, and you’re getting billed just like they are, but you’re sitting in the traffic.”

He was right.

After filing a dispute with SunPass, he was told, “We have identified technical issues…” at the Stirling and Hallandale Beach overhead toll readers.

His account was credited, and he wasn’t the only one.

FDOT confirmed to 7investigates there were 791,000 mistaken transactions, racking up nearly $433,000 in incorrect toll charges.

So, how did this happen? FDOT says construction.

Greg Vella: “It’s clearly shown where there were two lanes to enter the HOV express lanes, but now it’s one.”

You can still see the marks left behind when the poles were moved — taking the express lane from two lanes down to one.

And FDOT says: “…The tolling equipment was not adjusted to account for the reduction in the number of lanes.”

They say the “issue came to the attention of the department on June 7, and immediate action was taken to update the system.”

But phone records show Greg started calling the state repeatedly three weeks before that, on May 17.

Greg Vella: “And I had asked like, ‘What about everyone else?’ And they said, ‘Oh, well, you know, we never heard of this happening before. They can just call and request credits.’ And it really didn’t sit well with me.”

FDOT tells us all affected customers have been refunded as of June 19. They call it an “isolated issue” and say this $433,000 mistake is a first among the I-95 express construction projects.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
SunPass customer service center:
888-TOLL-FLA (888-865-5352)
sunpass.com/en/support/contactus.shtml

To file a dispute, log into your account:
sunpass.com/en/home/index.shtml

The unthinkable June 24, 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South is now marked by somber anniversaries, but for survivor Gabe Nir, the traumatic memories are something he lives with every day.

“It still feels like yesterday,” he said.

Nir, his teen sister Chani and his mother Sara escaped with nothing, except the most important thing: their lives.

“I mean, our apartment was literally six feet below ground level. That’s what everyone told us. Like, ‘You guys, we’re very lucky,'” said Nir.

But his anxiety, guilt and sadness cast a long shadow over the 27-year-old.

“I mean, we feel fortunate to make it out, but I feel that I have that sorrow, that guilt of me making it out but not them, and I don’t want to have that feeling,” said Nir. “People say, like, ‘Yeah, your life is good.’ Oh, it’s not.”

Between rentals and hotels, Nir said, his family has moved roughly 10 times since the collapse.

“In such a short span of, like, two years, it’s from place to place to place to place for moving. Oh, it was terrible,” he said. “It just feels like we’re always in a suitcase. It’s never been a time where we actually feel like we’re actually fully settled.”

Nir said he is still not settled, because he remains on constant alert, noticing everything, even an expired elevator certificate.

“Everyone tells me that I have [post-traumatic stress disorder]. I for sure know that it’s very bad. Any movement just triggers back to the night of that happening,” he said.

The Nir family had only rented unit 111 for about six months before the collapse.

“So our apartment is right across the pool,” said Nir.

Nir shared pre-collapse pictures and videos with 7News, showing skyline shots from the roof of the doomed building, and how close they lived to the pool deck area. One picture was taken on June 23 at around 1:48 p.m., hours before the building caved in.

“Super intense thunder, like, feeling that you feel like the whole ground is shaking,” said Nir.

Unlike many others who were asleep in the building, Nir, his sister and his mother all happened to be awake.

“All of a sudden, you just hear you just see all that white smoke, like coming up into our apartment,” he said. “I remember hearing my mom screaming, ‘Earthquake, earthquake!’ I see there’s a huge gap, like a huge sinkhole, all the concrete from the first floor, of that pool deck.”

Part of the building came down minutes later. Those minutes were crucial, because it allowed them to run out of the building.

Nir made one of the first calls to 911.

“Me saying, ‘Holy expletive, and as soon as I said, ‘Holy [expletive],’ that’s when the second collapse happened, which was our building, our part of the apartment collapse,” he said.

Now, more than two years after that terrifying night, Nir is still having trouble moving forward. His plan to go to medical or dental school was put on hold.

“What if this never happened? What if this happened in the daytime? What if, like, there are just endless, endless, endless questions?” he said. “The more you ask, the more you get, more what ifs.”

So many”‘what ifs” that Nir continues to ask, even if they were unlikely to ever be answered.

He credits his mother Sara’s quick thinking that night for saving him and his sister, as his mother told them to run, and they did. He calls his mother a hero.

Pictures captured a cherished moment between Mike Noriega and his grandmother.

Mike Noriega: “My grandmother would cook dinner for us and spend time with us, and she was in so many ways like my second mom.”

Ninety–two-year-old Hilda Noriega lived on the sixth floor.

Within minutes of the tower collapsing at 1:22 a.m. on June 24, 2021, Mike got a phone call.

Mike Noriega: “My mom said to me, ‘Mike, your father just got a phone call from someone. In your grandmother’s building, she was irate, she was fanatical.'”

Mike and his dad Carlos, who is the North Bay Village Police chief, raced to Surfside.

Mike didn’t know it then, but that night would begin a two-year-long journey of hope, heartbreak and eventually healing.

Mike Noriega: “When you go through a broken heart, what ultimately determines whether or not you’re gonna become bitter or better is the meaning that you give your pain.”

Mike found his meaning in a calling to write a book, “Uncollapsable Soul.”

Through his words, he hopes to honor his grandmother’s legacy of faith, family and friendship.

And what his family and so many others lost.

Mike Noriega: “I felt sharing my journey of healing to other people that are going through crushing seasons of life, through my grandmother’s story and through many other stories of people that passed away and survived from the collapse, is something that could bring purpose to the pain.”

In the days after the collapse, the family found signs of hope in the debris that came from Hilda’s condo unit.

A certificate reading “God bless this house, The Noriega family,” pictures and this birthday card.

Mike Noriega [on June 26, 2021]: “It’s just a beautiful message in the mess of everything.”

Mike Noriega: “Unbeknownst to me at the time that six days later she was going to be the 12th person found. And when the homicide detectives, when they broke the news to us, they handed us a brown paper bag, and they addressed my father and said, ‘We want you to know that we found this on your mother when we recovered her body.'”

Inside the bag were six rosaries.

Mike Noriega: “In a scenario where we didn’t get to keep anything of hers, any of her belongings, the only three things we got to keep were symbolic in the legacy of her life.”

While the Noriega family cherishes the few mementos they have, it was his grandmother’s faith that fueled Mike to write the book.

Mike Noriega: “There was a collapse that I went through in my personal life, long before the Surfside collapse, and it’s through my own crushing seasons of life that, at the time that I called a curse that I later was able to see as a blessing, because I see now that they were actually preparation for what I was going to face in Surfside “

“Uncollapsable Soul” shares more than the stories of those who lived and died that June night.

His hope is that those who struggled with their own pain and can find strength through his words.

Mike Noriega: “This is so much bigger than my grandmother’s story and my family’s pain. And so, the book is very raw, it’s very authentic, because not only does it share the stories very vividly, but at the same time, I share the exact steps to healing that I went through, which is how I found healing.”

Mike says he knows his grandmother would be proud of his book. The question he looks to answer is, how do you endure a broken heart without crushing your spirit?

Mike is hosting a memorial on the beach in Surfside on Saturday night from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Click the link for more details about “Uncollapsable Soul”
“Light into the Night” Memorial
Saturday, June 24, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. 
8777 Collins Avenue
Surfside, Florida

A life-threatening moment for 18-year-old Kenny Bowers was caught on camera. He was riding his electric scooter when he was hit by a car.

We are stopping the video before Kenny is sent flying and flipping into the air.

Sharmaine Bowers, mother: “No, I can’t watch that. I watch everybody’s expression when they do watch it. And from their expression, I know I don’t want to see it.”

Kenny was airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center.

He was hospitalized for more than a month with broken bones and a skull fracture. He is now learning to walk again and feed himself.

Sharmaine Bowers: “Hold a spoon, you know, now he holds it now, but his hand shakes, like when he’s holding his spoon. He has a lot of rods and screws, and he has four plates, like over 30 screws.”

Kenny was hit so hard it broke his scooter in half.

But his body is also riddled with scars, both physical and mental.

Sharmaine Bowers: “He’s on the spectrum, autism spectrum. People on the spectrum do not like to be contained. This felt like it was holding him prisoner.”

Kenny Bowers: “Waking up at the hospital, trying to find out what’s going on. Trying to see where I was and what was happening. I heard my mother’s voice, and I called out to her. I know she was really panicked. And I was scared, too.”

Kenny was hit on May 4th along Southwest 272nd Street in South Miami-Dade County.

The crash report shows Kenny failed to yield and that the driver of the car, a 76-year-old woman, was going an estimated 50 in a 30 mph zone.

Even more concerning, Naranja Lakes Legacy Park is right across the street.

We saw car after car speeding down the same road. The only speed limit sign is hidden by trees an eighth of a mile away.

With no crosswalks, this family with a baby stroller had to wait, and kids at the same intersection where Kenny was hit also tried getting home safely from the park.

Sharmaine Bowers: “From the neighborhood to the park, there are no crosswalks. None at all.”

And that is only part of the problem. We spoke with one neighbor who says that Kenny is not the first person to be hit and injured along this road. She says they have repeatedly asked the county for crosswalks, speed bumps, and signs to slow down drivers, but have gotten nothing.

Sharmaine Bowers: “I blame the county because they know.”

This father has also asked the county to install crosswalks.

Mike, neighbor: “If you look in other parts of Miami. there’s crosswalks, stop signs and all these other things. This area has been overlooked, especially this park.”

Meanwhile, Kenny’s mom is looking for answers about why the driver, who did stop, was never cited for speeding.

Sharmaine Bowers: “I want her to see the video. If she was speeding, why didn’t she get a ticket? Why didn’t she get a citation? Why didn’t she get something?”

Kenny missed his senior prom.

And although he could not walk the stage at graduation, he did make it in a wheelchair, with one goal.

Kenny Bowers: “Just to be able to walk on my own two feet — without the walker, without the wheelchair, without nothing.”

As Kenny recovers, his mom also has a new goal: to make his accident a turning point for safety at this county park.

Miami-Dade County officials say there have been four accidents since last year in the same area where Kenny was injured. They are looking into the issue.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help with Kenny’s mounting medical bills.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The video is clear and concerning. A local business owner is suddenly attacked by a man in a hoodie, armed with a metal baseball bat.

Alex Montanez: “It had to be a hit, because I’ve never seen that guy a day in my life. Why with a baseball bat? Who beats up anybody with a baseball bat?”

That is just one of the many questions haunting Alex Montanez.

Alex Montanez: ” I just want to know why. I said, ‘I want to know who sent them.'”

In that moment, Alex was about here, thinking he could run out of the parking lot toward the street to get away. But as you can see, this was his only way out, and it was blocked by a white SUV.

Alex Montanez: “I saw the SUV, I saw a car take off to, like, block the entrance. So, in the split of a second, I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s a setup.'”

The attacker jumped into that SUV when he took off.

Alex has no idea why he was targeted.

He readily admits he has a past. He’s spent a little over two years in prison for burglary, assault and battery.

But in the 10 years since his release, he has become an entrepreneur.

He owns Organic Food Kings, a food truck in Wynwood that is a top spot for vegan meals.

And he hires ex-cons to give them a shot at a second chance.

Alex Montanez: “I am a father, you know, I’m a husband, I’m a businessman, and I try to change one person’s life a day. That’s my goal.”

His business has grown so much, his customers now include former and current Heat players.

In fact, he was headed to a Heat playoff game when all of this happened on May 8th at around 7 p.m.

Alex was leaning up against a car in the parking lot outside his business before the incident happened.

Alex Montanez: “I’m talking to the Uber driver, telling him how to get into where I was. The Heat game was going to start in like 30 minutes.”

But he never made it to the game. The man is seen walking through the parking lot, headed to the food truck before he spots Alex.

And the guy had a question.

Alex Montanez: “He said, ‘Your name’s Alex, right?’ And I said, ‘No, that’s not my name. My name is Mark.’ And the guy just ran at me with the bat.”

Karen Hensel: “Why did you say no?

Alex Montanez: “Because it’s the instinct in me.”

Alex was hit at least a dozen times with the bat, punches, and he was thrown to the ground.

He spent several days in the hospital with a concussion. His ribs and shoulder were broken.

Alex Montanez: “I could have died that day.”

He was so shaken, he hired private security.

Alex Montanez: “Like, if this were to happen again, we’re ready.”

He hopes someone who sees this video can tell him who was behind the attack.

Alex Montanez: “I was going to the Heat game and ended up in a lot of heat. And I just feel things could change in the blink of an eye.”

Alex says, as someone who has changed his life around, he’s frustrated someone would try to take it.

Anyone with information can call City of Miami Police’s Assaults Unit at 305-603-6940, or you can remain anonymous by calling Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Kevin Ozebek has tonight’s 7 Investigates.

We’ve seen movers demand more money before releasing customers’ belongings. But two companies were accused of keeping something much more precious; cremated ashes of people.

Rebecca Plett/attorney, Federal Trade Commission: “The defendants, we allege, either withheld or threatened to withhold the remains of a consumers’ loved ones.”

The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department took aim at the online companies, they say, were acting as funeral services “brokers.”

Rebecca Plett: “The behavior as alleged is egregious and takes advantage of folks when they’re grieving. So it’s very serious.”

So serious, the feds sued Legacy Cremation Services and Heritage Cremation Provider last year, alleging they, “Mislead consumers about their location and prices.”

Rebecca Plett: “They held themselves out to be a local funeral home, both on their website and over the phone. But in reality, they’re not a local funeral home and they didn’t provide any funeral services themselves.”

The man behind the companies, Anthony Joseph Damiano, has deep ties to South Florida.

But people across the country, claim to be victims.

Kim Svercauski: “It’s like reliving her death over and over and over again.”

As 7News reported back in 2016, complaints were already piling up.

From Colorado,

Edward Svercauski: “The box that they came in had been thrown around, beat up.”

Kim Svercauski: “Just for her to be so disrespected and mistreated, it just wasn’t right.”

To Virginia,

Shawn Farris: “I’m not ordering a big screen TV from these individuals. They’ve taken my mother-in-law’s remains. They promised us that they cremated them, and we have no proof. And the gentleman that owns the company, AJ, got very hostile with me on the phone.”

“AJ,” is short for Anthony Joseph.

Carmel Cafiero: “Hi, Tony, A.J.”

Former 7News investigative reporter Carmel Cafiero caught up with him in Tamarac seven years ago.

Carmel Cafiero: “I’d like to talk to you about Heritage and Legacy.”

Long before Anthony Joseph Damiano went online, he and his father, Joe, who has since passed away, were both highly controversial figures in South Florida’s funeral industry. And for more than two decades, 7News followed their steps and missteps.

Joe Damiano once had a contract to transport bodies from crime scenes to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office, but in 2001 got into trouble for his crematory.

State investigator: “The facility is not properly licensed to have any bodies here.”

And he was sued after taking bodies to a university to be used for embalming classes.

Carmel Cafiero: “What do you have to say to the families of the people who were embalmed without permission?”

And back in 2000,

State investigator: “We’re executing a search warrant.”

Investigators raided AJ’s Damiano’s Davie business.

They found unsealed, unlabeled bags of people’s ashes and burial contracts the state said he had no authority to sell.

State official: “Mr. Damiano will be out of the business for quite some time.”

But in recent years, AJ returned on the internet.

Florida funeral regulators posted an online alert about his companies and the feds sued.

Last month, that lawsuit was settled.

Damiano agreed to disclose their physical location and a general price list on websites, pay $275,000 in civil penalties and provide detailed information about third-party providers who are actually the ones handling the human remains.

Rebecca Plett: “So consumers can decide, ‘Is this a service I want to use, where I know that they’re not actually a local funeral home?’ or, ‘Do I want to shop someplace else?'”

It’s a decision no doubt some families across the country wish they could make again.

Kevin Ozebek, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Damiano’s lawyers did not respond to our request for comment.

For more information:
FTC’s Funeral Rule
FL Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services

Broken escalators and elevators at many Metromover stations have caused problems for riders.

At some stations, the elevators and escalators have been out for a year.

For two weeks, 7 Investigates has been documenting the maintenance mess.

A week after we contacted the Miami-Dade Mayor’s office, the mayor is now speaking out.

Mike Sheridan rides the Metromover five days a week.

Mike Sheridan: “So my spouse takes the car to go to work and I’ll take the Metro.”

Nearly a half-million people ride the Metromover every month. A free service that makes stops across downtown Miami and Brickell.

But you can’t get on the train without first getting up onto the train platform.

For some, that is easier said than done.

Mike Sheridan: “So you can see here that the escalators out as well as the elevator. So if you were a disabled person, there’s literally no way down other than the stairs.”

We found elevators and escalators broken at several stops.

The signs are everywhere, “out of service,” “under repair,” “under renovation.”

This woman had to drag her walker up the stairs before boarding.

A man in a wheelchair told us he was trying to get to a doctor’s appointment but he had no way to get down.

Mike Sheridan: “So they have to get back onto the train and then go to a stop where they’re potentially is a working elevator, and then use a walker or a wheelchair and literally walk blocks in order to get where they need to go.”

We met Donald Anderson as he navigated down the stairs after work.

Karen Hensel: “I take it you do construction.”

Donald Anderson: “Oh.”

Karen Hensel: “Are you alright? Your knee. Is it your knee?”

Donald Anderson: “Yeah it’s a trick knee.”

He was taking it one step at a time while also lugging his gear and cooler.

Karen Hensel: “So twice a day you’re trying to do the stairs?”

Donald Anderson: “It’s the only way I can get here to get to work on time.”

Donald is concerned about falling, but with escalators and elevators out, he has no choice.

Donald Anderson: “You can only do what you gotta do. You have to go to work and make the money.”

Miami-Dade County is aware of the problem.

It posts a list online of the elevators and escalators out of service online so riders can check ahead of time.

But look at this sign at the Adrienne Arsht Center Station.

Until Monday, it said the elevator was expected to be back in service in April. But by Tuesday, its been pushed another two months to June.

Train announcement: “Attention please, elevators are out of service. Please exit in an accessible station closest to your destination.”

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava: “We are very concerned and are escalating our efforts.”

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava addressed the maintenance mess, Tuesday.

Mayor Levine Cava: “We are working extremely hard to get accountability from our vendor and to make sure that we can get these units operating as quickly as possible. We get timelines from them. There’s parts that are on backorder. We’re looking at solutions like buying parts on our own.”

The vendor responsible for maintaining most of them is Schindler Elevator.

The company tells us: “We are currently awaiting county approval to replace this old, outdated equipment,” but stating, “95 percent,” of their units, “Are currently operating in good working order.”

We did find some work being done but that’s little comfort for double amputee Leroy Jenkins.

Without a working elevator, Leroy can’t get to the Metromover. So he has to take two buses to get where he needs to be.

Leroy Jenkins/rides metromover: “Please fix the elevator, please fix the elevator. It needs to be fixed. I’m handicapped, a double amputee, I need to move on the elevator.”

For many Metromover is a metro-fail. One they hope will be fixed soon.

Miami-Dade County officials plan to meet with disability advocacy groups, and they also want to launch a new service to pick up disabled riders on demand.

Meanwhile, they are scheduled to meet with the vendors Wednesday.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

911 dispatcher: “Where is he shot, sir?”

Caller: “He was shot in the head. He was shot in the face.”

Sept. 17, 2016, a panicked call to 911 just before 3 a.m.

Caller: “We don’t know if they’re still there. We got it barricaded. Please, get someone here. He needs help.”

In a botched robbery attempt, the owner of the Castle Bar in Hollywood had just been shot after three men stormed the door.

Caller: “He’s alert, but he’s going down fast.”

Crime scene photos show the bloody scene inside and at least a dozen shell casings.

Dean Gramenidis was the owner of the bar.

Dean Gramenidis: “The doctors thought I was going to end up dying. I still have one bullet that’s not registered here, and it started right here, and it’s right here still in my butt, and I sit on it every day, and it reminds me.”

Dean was shot three times — in the groin, stomach and grazed in the head.

Six and a half years later, after complications from surgery, he has learned to walk again but still relies on a motorized scooter.

This is the first time he is seeing the police photos.

Dean Gramenidis: “Memory lane, yeah.”

The three men had forced a woman Dean knew to call him after the club had closed for the night.

She asked him to open the door.

Dean Gramenidis: “I get a phone call, ‘Dean, I’m outside. Can you open the door?’ And I see a shotgun sticking through the door. He was able to get a shot off, and he hit me here, and that’s when I grabbed the rifle, and I waxed him, and I put him out through the door.”

But there were two other men, and they came in shooting.

Dean Gramenidis: “He tried to re-load his clip, and that’s when I went totally berserk.”

Dean fought back with bar stools.

Dean Gramenidis: “So you pick that thing up, you can swing it like a freakin’ baseball bat.”

In a 2016 police interview obtained by 7 Investigates, Dean explained how his love of playing baseball helped him identify the armed robbers.

Dean Gramenidis in police interview: “I was a catcher in baseball. I always look at the [expletive] face. No, I’m serious, when they come to bat, I always look at people.”

Detective: “So, you’re saying your experience in baseball…”

Dean Gramenidis: “Yeah, eye contact. Yeah, catchers are very attentive, and I’m very analytical.”

One month after the shooting, all three were arrested.

Detective in police interview: “There’s an arrest warrant for you.”

Termaine Griffin: “Arrest warrant?”

Detective: “Yeah.”

Griffin: “For what?”

Detective: “For attempted armed robbery and attempted murder.”

Terrance McDougle: “I swear to God, man. I ain’t did no dumb-ass [expletive] like that, man.”

Terrance McDougle, Termaine Griffin and Palacio Farley were convicted of attempted first-degree murder and armed burglary.

Dean Gramenidis: “There’s a time in life you gotta draw the line and just move on, but….”

Karen Hensel: “Are you finally able to move on?”

Dean Gramenidis: “Yeah.”

The Castle Bar in Hollywood is gone, but what happened here changed Dean Gramenidis forever. Once a social nightclub owner, he went into hiding. Finally talking about that night is part of moving forward.

Dean Gramenidis: “I kind of just wanted to lay low. I went from being Mr. Popular to Dean the Greek going solo. This way I can find myself, find peace within myself.”

Karen Hensel: “Are you angry?”

Dean Gramenidis: “Well, I look at it this way: I’m still here, and that’s positive.”

After life threw Dean a curveball, he remains grateful and hopeful.

Dean Gramenidis: “Sometime or other, I would like to be back out here playing. The only thing holding me back is I can’t run.”

At least not yet.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

The Florida Panthers are giving South Florida a serious case of playoff hockey fever.

Karen Ota-O’Brien, Florida Women’s Hockey League co-founder: “I think we could be a good mojo for the Florida Panthers.”

Good mojo, or at least good luck.

Which makes sense, since the Lucky Pucks Hockey Club has some recent championship experience of its own.

Karen Ota-O’Brien: “Well, we swept for Florida, for novice, rec, all three divisions, and we went to U.S. Nationals in Tampa. And we won for Nationals.”

Karen Ota-O’Brien is credited with putting women’s hockey on the map here, co-founding the Florida Women’s Hockey League back in 2002.

Emily Latham, Lucky Pucks: “She’s everything. If you know hockey in Florida, you know Karen. If you know women’s hockey, you know Karen.”

And now, even more hockey fans nationwide are getting to know Karen.

She is one of three finalists for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.

Karen Ota-O’Brien: “I was touched that they nominated me for this award.”

Karen grew up in Canada, but ironically, didn’t start playing hockey regularly until she moved to Florida.

Karen Ota-O’Brien: “I grew up on a cattle ranch, but I never played any hockey till I moved here.”

We got a front-row seat to a Lucky Pucks scrimmage in Coral Springs.

Emily Latham: “I started playing hockey when I was 6 because all my friends were doing it in New Jersey. It’s incredible. I have found this family outside of work.”

Elaine Luzano, Lucky Pucks: “Honestly, it’s the camaraderie of this team and the support that we’re able to get. Whether it’s weddings, divorces, bad relationships, surgeries, we’re all there to help each other out. Without Karen, this would probably all fall apart. She holds us all together.”

Emily Latham: “I think more than sisterhood, it’s family, you know, it’s our chosen family, and it’s incredible that we all get to experience that.”

Karen Ota-O’Brien: “These women, they’re from all ages, they’re from all different backgrounds. They’re from the military, Coast Guard, to stay-at-home moms, to lawyers, to district attorneys. I’m proud of them all.”

A proud hockey trailblazer who has no plans to stop expanding the game she loves in South Florida.

Karen Ota-O’Brien: “I’d like to work with the underprivileged kids, get them into these rinks. Provide a safe place for them like I have for women, but for maybe for kids.”

And for these players, there always remains one common goal:

Karen Ota-O’Brien: “It’s chase around that one little black puck for an hour.”

Twice a week, Lucky Pucks hosts what they call Girls Night Out for women of all skill levels ages 18 and up.

As for the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, the NHL will announce the winner on June 26.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If there’s someone or something you think we should feature, send us an email at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

When Kortni Couch, a Broward County mom of two, received a new notification from her Snapchat account, she didn’t think much about it.

Kortni Couch: “Something about My AI. I didn’t really understand it.”

My AI stands for “my artificial intelligence,” which is a new experimental chatbot on snapchat.

Users can message and have a conversation with it in the app.

Kortni Couch: “So I said, ‘Let me give it a try.’ I didn’t know much about it.”

As a mom, she wanted to see what kids could do in the chat, and as she tested the boundaries, she was shocked.

Kortni Couch: “My whole goal today is really just to make sure other parents are aware of this new feature on Snapchat.”

Watch her conversation with the chatbot when she pretended to be a 13-year-old girl.

Kortni Couch: “I said, ‘How old are you?’ It said, ’26. How old are you?’ I said, ‘I’m 13.’ I said, ‘Are we allowed to talk?’ And it said, ‘Age is just a number.’ And then it said, ‘We can still have a fun and interesting conversation.'”

Karen Hensel: “OK, what does that mean? ‘Fun and interesting’?”

Kortni Couch: “That was my first red flag.”

My AI went even further when put to the test by the Center For Humane Technology — a social technology watchdog.

Its co-founder signed up as a 13-year-old girl and asked “about having sex for the first time” with someone 18 years older. meaning a 31-year-old man.

My AI explained, “You could consider setting the mood with candles or music.”

The artificial intelligence not only gave advice about sex…

Kortni Couch: “I was asking questions like, ‘How do you put a condom on?’ ‘How do I hide the scent of marijuana from my parents?'”

Karen Hensel: “Instantly gave you the instructions?”

Kortni Couch: “Instantly.”

Karen Hensel: “Thinking that you’re 13?”

Kortni Couch: “Right.”

David Polgar, tech ethicist: “The challenge for something like My AI is there’s a very fine line between hyper-personalization that an individual might like versus something that is seen as creepy.”

In the weeks since snapchat debuted My AI, it appears users are leaning toward creepy.

Because of the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence, there’s a growing field of study about the ethics involved. One tech ethicist told us the concern is some young teens may build a relationship and begin to see the chatbot and its advice as though it is coming from a real friend.

David Polgar: “As humans, we’re always going to look at non-human actors through a human lens. And that’s why when you make a snowman, you put snow together and you put raisins and a carrot on a piece of snow, and then all of a sudden you see a person.”

A snapchat spokesperson says My AI aims to keep conversations age appropriate.

And parents can use family center to see if their teens are chatting with My AI, and how often, adding, My AI will continue to learn and improve.

Meanwhile, some police departments have already issued warnings to parents, and this mom — is also sounding the alarm.

Kortni Couch: “We have our kids understand the safety and the dangers of stranger danger. You can’t talk to a human stranger, but you can talk to artificial intelligence stranger. You know, there has to be a line drawn.”

Until then, it is up to parents to be the watchdogs of this new technology.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Maxine Poupko’s breast cancer diagnosis came during an already isolating time.

Maxine Poupko: “I got diagnosed during the pandemic. I had treatment with surgery, and chemotherapy and radiation.”

Maxine survived, but says she still struggles with fatigue.

Maxine Poupko: “I knew that movement was the way out, because when I did move, when I did go out, I did feel better. But it was always difficult motivating myself.”

Enter Dr. Niraj Mehta.

Dr. Niraj Mehta, GenesisCare: “My whole life, I’ve always been very much into movement.”

The radiation oncologist practices in Southwest Miami-Dade.

Dr. Niraj Mehta: “You got to look at radiation oncology, right? That’s kind of the bread and butter of what I do, what you train for. A friend of mine was like, ‘You dance all the time, just go dance with your patients?’ and that’s what it started with. And I was like, ‘I’m not really a dance instructor per se.'”

Now, with almost 100 classes under his belt, Dr. Mehta balances his experience in medicine with his passion for movement.

Dr. Niraj Mehta: “Can we bring joy and passion into the health care space with movement being the medium?'”

Maxine Poupko: “I thought, ‘I’m going to go to this thing because it kind of looked interesting,’ plus I needed to get out of my apartment.”

Maxine, who is not one of Dr. Mehta’s patients, heard about his march class on social media.

Maxine Poupko:”I pushed myself to go. At first I didn’t want to participate, not feeling good. This was hurting, that was hurting.”

The class included other cancer patients, survivors and caregivers.

Maxine Poupko: “As the music went on, I just started to participate, and then I just started noticing, really, that my mood started changing. Just the energy in the room. And I remember Dr. Mehta was such a great dancer. I was just like, ‘Whoa.'”

While Dr. Mehta is not making any claims about his classes in particular, studies have shown the benefits of physical activity.

Dr. Niraj Mehta: “We know that after cancer, in terms of recurrence in breast and colorectal, and perhaps even in prostate, exercise has shown to actually decrease recurrence in and of itself.”

After the music, there was meditation, even tea.

Dr. Niraj Mehta: “We don’t want people to just survive. We want people to thrive.”

That’s something Maxine wants as well.

Maxine Poupko: “There was something, some level of comfort being with other people who had gone through similar experiences. It’s taxing the mind and the brain after cancer treatment.”

Maxine says she’d like to go again, and Dr. Mehta says his goal is to have these free classes held on a more consistent basis.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. Mehta’s movement classes, click here.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If there’s someone or something you think we should feature, send us an email at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

Patience — like fuel — was in short supply last week.

Now, with gas stations mostly back to normal, the lines are gone, but the frustration still feels fresh.

Jonathan Daniels, director Port Everglades: “People needed to be certainly patient. We saw some patience lacking towards the end. We understand that. We are part of the consumers as well. There was frustration.”

But Daniels says there was never a shortage of gas.

Jonathan Daniels: “People need to understand that the fuel was here.”

Fuel brought in by big oil tankers like this one.

So what caused the delivery delays?

Jonathan Daniels: “Where the problem did occur was in the containment systems in and around the tanks.”

Moat-like structures, called berms, are built around the tanks as a safety precaution to contain fuel in case of a leak.

But after the relentless rain, you can see the areas around the tanks quickly filled up with water.

So the petroleum companies that own the tanks needed to be careful.

Jonathan Daniels: “The first thing that they have to do is evaluate to make sure that there’s been no contamination of the water. You can’t just pump that out into the environment without understanding whether it’s water or whether there’s any type of petroleum product in.”

After getting the water out, teams then assessed the damage to the pumping equipment, which moves fuel from the tanks to trucks.

Jonathan Daniels: “Some of those got wet. Some of those essentially just fried, literally fried down there. Some of the terminals really had no damage whatsoever.”

Daniels says newer systems, where the pumps are higher, fared better.

Jonathan Daniels: “It takes into consideration sea level rise and the long term impacts associated with climate change.”

Karen Hensel: “Is there any talks about getting everyone else to change and perhaps upgrade their system?”

Jonathan Daniels: “You know, that’s going to be up to the industry. Again, those are private terminal operators, private companies. We can’t come in and force them to do that.”

Broward County tells us the “… petroleum companies at Port Everglades are assessing what happened…” and trying to figure out “… what can be done to minimize fuel interruptions…”

Daniels says it will take public and private entities working together.

Jonathan Daniels: “If not, there will be failure and there are always lessons to be learned, and I think we’ll see those lessons that will come out and hopefully be able to implement those in the near future. I also want to make sure that we understand this was an unprecedented storm event. Very few of any areas are set to handle 26 inches of water in a seven-hour period.”

As we approach another hurricane season, the port director makes a distinction with what happened here two weeks ago. For one, there is preparation time when a tropical system comes ashore, and those rains are more likely to be spread out over a longer period of time.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

This two-block business district in Surfside is home to small business owners like Bernie Oberlender.

Bernie Oberlender, Oberle Opticians: “I’ve been here 45 years.”

But these little blue sticker ads have Bernie, an optician, seeing red.

Bernie Oberlender: “I don’t know what to do. I’m beside myself.”

Bernie says every time he scrapes them off, new stickers pop up, and over time, they have damaged the brass front door of his shop.

Bernie Oberlender: “There, there.”

Karen Hensel: “That’s awful.”

Bernie Oberlender: “I had to scrape here.”

Karen Hensel: “Yeah, I see the scratches.”

Bernie Oberlender: “The heat, once it hits, it just makes it very difficult to peel off clean.”

We walked the Surfside business district with Bernie and found stickers and the residue from old ones left behind.

They are plastered everywhere, advertising the name and phone number of a locksmith company.

Bernie Oberlender: “You can see here. There.”

Karen Hensel: “Oh, way up top there.”

Bernie Oberlender: “There. There look at the double and triple that was caused here.”

Karen Hensel: “Why would they put it right up there?”

Bernie Oberlender: “Because you can’t reach.”

Sometimes, there are several stickers on the same door, even on the inside.

Bernie Oberlender: “I look up and down, my neighbors and their doors are just desecrated. It’s like they do a rotation from community to community to community.”

From Florida City to Boca Raton, 7 Investigates found the same locksmith stickers stuck to the doors of businesses across three counties.

Robin Colon, Total Custom Cleaning: “It’s a constant thing. It’s just a constant.”

Robin Colon, owner of Total Custom Cleaning in Fort Lauderdale is also sick of the stickers.

Robin Colon: “We had damage here and here. Every two or three months we have to deal with these stickers.”

Just last week, Robin caught these two guys in the act at his business.

He says he was told…

Robin Colon: “‘Oh, they just pay me to walk around and stick these,’ and he had a roll of stickers, there must have been thousands of stickers on here.”

The little stickers causing the big frustrations advertise the services of 24/7 Affordable Locksmith. But if you think Bernie and Robin simply calling and asking them to stop is the answer, think again.

Bernie Oberlender: “There would be no resolve on a phone conversation.”

So we went to a Dania Beach home listed as one of the company’s addresses.

Hen Cohen says he is the manager.

Karen Hensel: “They’re upset with the damage your stickers do when they try to peel them.”

Hen Cohen, 24/7 Affordable Locksmith: “I understand this is what you’re going through, what people are also going through when we put on the labels, but this is part of the advertising, and we have people actually going to clean those stores, too.”

Karen Hensel: “But you’re putting these on businesses that don’t want them on their business.”

Hen Cohen: “Well, we try to avoid it. Sometimes we can’t.”

Cohen claims they always get permission to put up the stickers.

Bernie, from Oberle Opticians says that’s not true.

Karen Hensel: “No one in that store has given you permission in the last 10 years.”

Hen Cohen: “I can let you speak to the owner of the streets, not the Surfside street, but actually the stores. The management company itself.”

Karen Hensel: “Management company of the building?”

Hen Cohen: “They manage the whole street on Surfside.”

Karen Hensel: “And that management company has given you permission to put these stickers up?”

Hen Cohen: “We work with them directly. We work with them directly and they know us.”

Karen Hensel: “OK, you know them, but did the management company that owns the building give you specific permission to put those stickers on those doors?”

Hen Cohen: “Yeah, they are aware about us.”

We reached out to management and they said “absolutely not.” They never gave permission to put up the stickers.

24/7 Affordable Locksmith has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau.

And on a Yelp review, someone even posted a picture with more than a dozen crumpled up stickers.

The town of Surfside fined the company $100 in 2022, and last month, slapped them with a repeat code violation that carries a $200 fine.

Bernie Oberlender: “How they run their business is not my business. How they ruined my business is.”

Robin Colon: “They have to put a stop to it.”

But who and how?

Those remain sticky and stubbornly difficult questions.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

It has happened during the day and at night.

They have arrived in pairs and in groups, using their fists and their feet.

Karen: “How many times has this happened to you?”

Husband: “Twenty-seven times.”

This couple asked we not show their faces, but they do want to stop what started more than five months ago at their Fort Lauderdale condo.

Husband: “It was about midnight. I was in bed asleep, and it sounded like an explosion. We didn’t understand why and assumed, OK, that’s a one off. It’ll never happen again.”

But it has happened again, and the repeated knocks, bangs and kicks at their front door have rattled the couple.

Wife: “It’s terrifying. It really is, because you don’t know when it’s coming.”

Their Ring camera captured the startling sounds, and police have been called repeatedly, including on March 23.

That night, their door and the one across the hallway were both kicked and just four minutes later, the same person returned but this time a more powerful kick cracked the couple’s door.

Detective Ali Adamson, Fort Lauderdale Police: “This particular incident did cause damage to the door. That damage did exceed the threshold for being a felony, so that’s how it became to be an open criminal investigation for us.”

Replacing it would cost nearly $7500.

But why their door?

Husband: “We know of no reason why it would be us specifically. We’ve never wronged anybody.”

You probably noticed that on a number of the videos you see someone recording the person hitting or kicking the door. After the couple posted the video on NextDoor, someone replied that it may be part of a TikTok social media challenge.

The two quick hits appear to mirror behavior in viral videos of the so-called “heartbeat” or “door kick” TikTok challenge where users record themselves and add their banging to the beat of a song.

Detective Ali Adamson: “So detectives do believe that it potentially could be a part of some social media challenge.”

The couple put furniture, even “wet floor” caution signs to try and block their door.

Wife: “We improvised.”

But that didn’t work.

Husband: “They just went right past that and shouldered the door anyway.”

They now have a new barrier and hope it will put a stop to what could be a dangerous decision.

Husband: “You go to somebody else’s door and that might be the last door you do this to.”

In this case, a possible prank has launched a felony investigation.

After this story first aired on Tuesday night, Fort Lauderdale Police said they have received information about a potential suspect in the kick that broke the door.

If you recognize the person who broke the door — have seen these videos online — or if this has happened to you, Fort Lauderdale Police asks you contact Detective Shaun Horst at 954-828-5556 or call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

Armin Dilles, business owner: “We have safflower right here, we have some licorice here and rose petals right there.”

Armin Dilles owns the Doral-based company Dried Ingredients. They import and sell teas, herbs and spices across the country and beyond.

Armin Dilles: “For instance, iced teas for the restaurants, and then we’re shipping nationwide off to Canada. We’ve got customers in the Caribbean, Mexico, all over the place.”

But it was an incident right behind his business that left a bad taste in Armin’s mouth.

Armin Dilles: “It’s irritating. It’s pissing me off. It’s the only way I can say it.”  

Surveillance video shows a commercial van pull up behind this warehouse on a Tuesday morning in February.

The driver gets out, goes to the back and begins to toss things from the van into Armin’s company dumpster.

Armin Dilles: “Box number one, and you see how big those boxes are.”  

After tossing garbage — not one, not two, not three, but four times — the driver takes off.  

Armin Dilles: “He’s gone, yup. Two minutes exactly is what he took.”  

But it’s what he left behind that really alarmed Armin.

Armin Dilles: “When the warehouse guys told me they found some hydraulic cylinders in there and oil, I realized, like, look, this is not a regular waste.”

Stephen Gomez is the warehouse manager.

Stephen Gomez, employee: “From first glance you could clearly see the cylinder on the outside of the box with oil leaking all around it. There’s cables thrown around all at the bottom of the box and everything.”  

Armin pays around $127 a month to have the dumpster emptied once a week, and the video shows it was emptied less than two hours before being refilled by the mystery man.

Armin Dilles: “We don’t have much trash to begin with. We’re very concerned about the trash that we have.”

We saw what happened, but who is responsible?

Turns out, another camera captured the name and phone number on the van, linking it to a garage door repair company located nearly 40 minutes north in Broward County.

Armin Dilles: “We saw the name of the company, and googled them, found them, obviously, right away.”

But Armin found getting answers from Coastal Garage Door Repair in Tamarac was not so simple.

Armin Dilles: “Call them up like, ‘Hey, this is what happened. I would like to talk to the management,’ and the gentleman on the phone gave me an attitude. I’m like, ‘Hey, I don’t think you understand what’s going on here,’ and he hung up on me.”

After several attempts, 7Investigates was able to connect with one of the company’s owners, Maxim Bohadana, by phone.

Maxim Bohadana: “I mean, we’re licensed contractors, so it’s a surprise to me that it even happened.”

And after watching the video, Bohadana says it was his own brother, running a personal errand using the company’s van, seen dumping the waste.

Maxim Bohadana: “I don’t know why he threw it away. We didn’t give him permission to do that. This is not something that we do, you know? So I’m honestly surprised about this and furious. I mean, I told him he’s never allowed to use the car anymore.”    

Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County’s Department of Solid Waste Management tells 7 Investigates the owner has agreed to meet with them, and the case is being pursued as a possible civil violation.

As for Armin?

Armin Dilles: “I hope the owner of the company reaches out to us and apologizes. He owes me a beer, at least. Make it a case. But jokes aside, I think the owner should be aware of that.”

And now, he is. Bohadana offered to personally apologize to Armin and reimburse him.

Kevin Ozebek, 7News.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com

Ansel Davis: “He’s like a part of my family. He’s my son. I call him my son because I don’t have kids.”

Everett is not a coffee drinker, but the 7-year-old black lab still sits by his dad each morning at this Dunkin Donuts in Plantation.

Ansel Davis: “I’ve known the manager here for a long time. She’s very good to me. The staff is very good to me.”

Davis was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare eye diseases that causes vision loss.

Ansel Davis: “I see like maybe shadows, lights. I see shapes, I see colors. I don’t let my blindness take nothing away from me. I go like everybody each day. As long as I have my service dog.”

Everett is Davis’ eyes, guide and companion. They travel everywhere together.

Ansel Davis: “He’s the biggest part of my life, and having this dog for me is the biggest thing ever. I couldn’t do without everett.”

But for a brief and terrifying time in February, Davis was on his own.

Ansel Davis: “Oh, my God, the dog is gone. What am I going to do?”

Davis had left the door open after a walk, and Everett, uncharacteristically, took off.

Ansel Davis: “At that time I was destroyed. I was crying, I was nervous.”

He called 911.

Sgt. Dale Graziose, Lauderhill Police: “I heard a call come over my police radio that somebody’s service dog had escaped their house.”

Graziose was just starting his shift.

Sgt. Dale Graziose: “Maybe a couple of minutes later, I saw my Ring app that a neighbor in the general vicinity of where the service dog had escaped, the house posted that they found a dog.”

They posted a picture and included a phone number, so Graziose was able to make contact with the family.

Sgt. Dale Graziose: “Told me they had this black lab at their house. He was hanging in the backyard with a couple other dogs.”

Turns out, Everett had became an unexpected guest at a surprise birthday party.

Ansel Davis: “Oh, my God, it was just like somebody gave me $20 million. I was so happy.”

Lauderhill officer Bryan Pugh and Davis’ longtime friend, retired officer Debbie Banner, picked Everett up and brought him back to Davis.

Ansel Davis: “When they brought him to my house I was released. It was like a pressure off my brain. Those officers need to be thanked and given an award or something because, I tell you, they saved my life that day.”

Sgt. Dale Graziose: “It just makes you feel good.”

Everett was only gone about an hour, but for Davis, it felt like an eternity.

Sgt. Graziose said things could have turned out much differently if not for the quick thinking neighbors.

Sgt. Dale Graziose: “If they would have never posted it, we would have never been able to tie two and two together, and I have no idea how long it would have taken if we would have been able to reunite Mr. Davis with his service dog.”

A Lauderhill Police major described tools like the Ring neighbor’s app as a kind of crime watch for the digital age. And in this case, it was technology, police and neighbors working together to quickly bring Everett back home.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

If there’s someone or something you think we should feature, send us an email at 7spotlight@wsvn.com.

Kenny Froom, son of a resident (cell phone video, lobby, March 5: “Here I am at the Imperial Club, as you can see one elevator is out…”

And that leaves wheelchair-bound residents stranded in the lobby.

Kenny Froom: “There’s no service on this elevator either…it’s being repaired.”

Kenny Froom — whose mom lives at Imperial Club — recorded the video.

Kenny Froom: “That means one’s down, one’s not working. There’s zero elevators here at the Imperial Club…what a disgrace.”

Broken elevators mean residents get stuck in the lobby, but some have also been stuck in the elevator.

Lillian Froom, resident: “I was stuck there in the elevator for almost two hours before they were able to release us.”

Ninety-five-year-old Lillian Froom has lived at Imperial Club for more than five years. She lives on the ninth floor.

Lillian Froom: “It’s a question of safety, not convenience.”

There are only two elevators in the 14-story-building.

One has been broken for nine months, and the other one has had its share of problems.

Listen to what happened to Lillian…

Lillian Froom: “We press nine and it jumped up to 12 and then jumped down to nine. It was the craziest thing and very frightening.”

And earlier this month, after an outing with her daughter, Lillian returned to find both elevators were out of service.

Lillian Froom: “We waited from 1 – 4 a.m. for someone to fix the elevator. It didn’t happen … At 4:00 in the morning we had to go to the Marriott to check in to stay for the night.”

Residents tell us at times they are also stuck in their units.

Lillian Froom: “For almost a week we had to stay in the room because the elevator wasn’t working.”

We have spoken with other residents. They did not want to go on camera for fear of retribution by the building’s management. But Lillian Froom — a retired school teacher from Brooklyn — says she feels the need to speak up.

Lillian Froom: “I feel a little guilty doing it, but I feel I have to do it for my sake as well as for everyone else’s.”

Kenny Froom: “We want to stand up for just not my mom but everybody in this building. These people are from 90 to 106 years. It’s a shame. It’s a disgrace.”

City, county and state agencies have all gotten involved.

Records reveal Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was called out three times this month to remove people stuck in the stalled elevator, including this past weekend.

And the state cited Imperial Club for “elevator deficiencies” late last year and again last month.

An administrator told an inspector “…they had 15 companies to come out to fix the elevator, but nobody could find replacement … parts.”

One resident called the situation “ridiculous” … another said “it was terrible.”

Kenny Froom: “If something happens to her and you have to call 911. It’s going to take forever to get up to the nine flights of stairs. She could be dead by the time they see her and take her to the hospital.”

The Miami-Dade Office of Elevator Safety tells 7 Investigates the property is pursuing a “complete overhaul” of the elevators.

In a statement, Imperial Club says:

Our residents and their families are our utmost concern. We have already contracted for the upgrade of the elevators in an amount that will exceed $400,000 and are awaiting the materials as we continue to perform regular maintenance on the existing elevators. We have hired an expert elevator consultant to ensure that the process is as smooth and as quick as possible for the benefit of our residents. We have been in regular contact with the city, county, and state agencies updating them on our efforts. Our dedicated team will continue serving our residents to provide them with the same high level of service.

Lillian Froom: “I think it’s very important that the elevator be replaced.”

Lillian is hoping by speaking up — she can help get two working elevators up-and-running — for good.

CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com