Miami-Dade Cop Was Wackenhut Whistleblower

Officer slain in Puerto Rico was key witness in security company case: source

The Miami-Dade police officer who was murdered along with his sister on the side of a rural road in Puerto Rico was recently revealed as a whistleblower in a state case against Wackenhut Security Systems, a source told NBC Miami.

Officer Juan L. Aviles, 34, and sister Jazmin Plaza Otero, 21, were found shot to death shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday near the town of Villalba.

Aviles, who was in Puerto Rico visiting his mother, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the passenger seat of the car. Otero, who was also shot several times, was found outside the car, on the driver's side.

A NBC Miami source said Thursday that Aviles was revealed two weeks ago as a key witness in the state's case against Wackenhut, where Aviles had worked before joining the police department. The South Florida-based security company, now called G4S, was accused in 2006 of over-billing Miami-Dade County for security services at Metrorail stations.

Meanwhile, the motive for the murders remains a mystery. Police in Puerto Rico said the siblings had been at a local bar earlier in the evening. Police said the two may have run into someone who tried to rob them, or may have had problems with someone at the bar.

Relatives in Puerto Rico told a local newspaper that Otero had recently broken off a relationship with her boyfriend, who had threatened her and may have mistaken Aviles for a new boyfriend, according to the Miami Herald.

And local police officials said three envelopes with a white powdery substance were found in Aviles' pocket, and another empty envelope was found on the floor of the car, according to the Herald.

Back in South Florida, police said they're also investigating the murders.

"The information that we're receiving is from Puerto Rico, so a lot of the information is extremely sketchy right now," said Nancy Perez, with the Miami-Dade Police.

Perez said Aviles had been with the department since 2006 and was the father of four, including the newborn twins his wife, also a Miami-Dade Police employee, delivered just weeks ago.

"This officer has left behind four children, his wife is also a law enforcement officer with our department and she just had baby twins," Perez said.

Calls to the State Attorney's Office and G4S were not immediately returned.

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