Crime Scene

Mother defends her son, criticizes BSO

Mayra Arana says a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy who fatally shot her son was out of line.

Mario Cruz, 27, was gunned down after he stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her roommate and then ran towards Deputy Gregory Stanley, holding carving knives.

"There are worse people on the streets," Arana, 47, said. "This was too much
violence. He wasn't armed with a gun. He merely had a knife.''

Actually, he had two knives - and used them to repeatedly stab two people. Check out the story by reporter Ani Martinez.

Still, Arana says the deputy should have aimed for her son's leg, rather than shooting at him multiple times.

But BSO says that's not how they operate.

"We don't fire warning shots in the air,'' said Elliot Cohen, a BSO spokesman. "We don't shoot weapons out of peoples hands. We don't aim for the legs of a man who is racing towards us with two carving knives and has the potential to kill our deputy."

Arana, who lives in New Jersey, flew down to South Florida after that her son had been killed.

She said that he had no history of violence and lashed out against his ex-girlfriend, Maria Borrero, because she provoked him.

"My son was furious because she was playing with his heart," Arana said.

Cruz and Borrero, who was released from the hospital the same day of the stabbing, met while living in New Jersey in 2004, Arana said.

A year later, Cruz moved to Coral Springs to escape the cold weather. Borrero followed soon after and they moved in together.

Three months ago, Cruz called his mother at her home in Somerville, N.J., telling her that his relationship with Borrero was over and she had moved out.

But even after the separation, they continued seeing each other, Arana said.

Borrero would spend the night at Cruz's apartment, her mail continued to be delivered to his place and, last month, they traveled together to New Jersey to visit their families, Arana said.

"If she didn't want him, why did she always come over?" Arana said. "She should have just cut him out of her life."

Borrero is still shaken up from the incident, a relative in New Jersey said today. She is on her way to her hometown in New Jersey to recover with family.

Miami-Dade major wants to be chief

Twenty-five-year Miami-Dade Police veteran Ruben Galindo, a major currently in charge of the department's patrols at Miami International Airport, is a candidate for a police chief job in Somerville, Mass.

As a Miami-Dade district commander, Galindo oversees 135 officers and a $24.4 million annual budget.

In swanky* Somerville, a northwest suburb of Boston, Galindo would lead 122 officers and have a budget of about $10.4 million.

Galindo, 45, is up for the top cop job along with two other candidates: Somerville's interim police chief and a Clearwater, Fla., police captain. The Somerville Journal has the applicants' resumes posted online. 

Galindo and his competitors will be at Somerville City Hall Tuesday night to answer questions from residents and local officials.

*UPDATE: Upon further review, Commenter Yoiu appears to be correct. Somerville is a densely populated urban pocket of mostly 20-something-year-old Yuppies and immigrant families. I confused it with some of the plush nearby suburban communities like Brookline and Newton.

Shooting keeps man from gym

It's amazing the way people react to different situations. For example, a few weeks ago I arrived at a scene where two Coral Springs police officers had shot a man who apparently tried running them over with a car.

The shooting happened behind a 24 Hour Fitness gym. The entire area around the gym was blocked off. I was at a nearby McDonald's (near where the car was recovered) talking with a few television reporters. Then a man pulls up in his car. The conversation goes:

Man (dressed in sweats, pulls up in car, rolls down window): What happened?
Me: Well, the police shot a man behind the gym. He's been taken to the hospital. They are investigating what happened.
Man (looking shocked): So the gym is closed?
Me: Yes, the gym is closed.
Man: So I should go to the other gym?
Me: You probably should.

Shaq for sheriff?

Is there anything Shaq can't do?

On Monday, the seven-foot one-inch basketball superstar said he wants to run for sheriff somewhere after retiring from the NBA. And that somewhere, he said, might just be Broward County.

Despite his busy schedule, Shaq is actually pretty serious about law enforcement. He's been a Miami Beach reserve officer since 2005 and has helped cops make several arrests. Most recently, he helped nab a hit-and-run driver in Coconut Grove.

That's not all. Shaq also attended the police academy in Los Angeles and was named an honorary special deputy U.S. marshal in 2005. (Oh yeah, and he's won four NBA titles, starred in a movie and hosted his own reality television show.)

Current Sheriff Ken Jenne says he's not afraid of the competition -- unless it comes to rebounds.

We'll see what happens when the job opens in 2008.

Keep arms and legs inside ride

What a rocky week it's been for boaters off Florida's coast.

First, Scott Durbin takes a drunken leap from the Carnival cruise ship Liberty on Sunday night.

Then tonight, the Coast Guard tells us a Fort Lauderdale woman is missing at sea after falling from a 49-foot yacht near the Bahamas.

Rescuers plan to search for the unidentified 42-year-old on Wednesday. But without a life jacket or a specific location where she fell in, it will be a difficult effort.

Stay straight, slow on the MacArthur

Miami and Miami Beach police are teaming up to crack down on drunken drivers for the Fourth of July holiday.

Officers will set up a DUI checkpoint and step up their patrol efforts along the MacArthur Causeway (left) from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Sir, is that a pint in your pants?

Sometimes, there are some real gems hidden among the purse-snatchings and car break-ins reported in our Neighbors police blotters.

Like this one from Miami Beach, brought to Crime Scene's attention by Copy Desk Chief Jeff Kleinman:

"Police arrested a 36-year-old man on a charge of theft at CVS pharmacy, 306 Lincoln Rd., at noon June 21. Police said store security saw the man hide ice cream valued at $4 down his shorts before trying to leave."

As of press time, police had not identified the flavor.