Suspect in Lauderdale Lakes Triple Murder Arrested Again

Lineten Belizaire re-arrested on second-degree murder charges

The South Florida man who was released from jail after being charged in a triple murder in Lauderdale Lakes is behind bars once again, authorities said.

Lineten Belizaire, 21, was arrested Monday night on three counts of second-degree murder, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

Jail records showed he was booked into the Broward Main Jail around 6 p.m. His attorney, Alexander Michaels, maintained Tuesday that Belizaire is innocent and said he was upset over his rearrest.

"I'm very upset about it, I think it's a last effort by law enforcement to save a bad case that it never had in the first place," Michaels said, adding that he thinks prosecutors didn't charge Belizaire within the required time period. "The time is running out for the prosecution, they may be out of time as it is, I need to check some numbers."

During a brief Broward court appearance Tuesday, Judge Carlos Rebollo advised Belizaire, who appeared at a bond hearing without an attorney, that he was arrested for three counts of second-degree murder.

Rebollo said he found probable cause to detain Belizaire and ordered him held without bond.

Michaels said he would push for an emergency hearing to have Belizaire released.

"I am very confident that my client will be released today or tomorrow, he's entitled to be released again," Michaels said. "It's my belief that at this point, my client is illegally detained. They have a right to arrest him maybe, that's debatable even, but regardless of that, he's illegally detained at this point."

Broward State Attorney's Office spokesman Ron Ishoy said he was re-arrested based on new evidence, but said he couldn't comment further because it's an ongoing case.

“When two young women and an innocent baby boy are gunned down, we have to find justice,” Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said in a statement. “Since the morning of the murders, this case has been a priority of the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the homicide detectives who never stopped working on it.”

Belizaire was arrested in January on first-degree murder charges in the deaths of 6-month-old Carlton Stringer, Jr.,  his 25-year-old mother, Natasha Plummer, and 21-year-old roommate Octavia Barnett.

According to police, the bodies were found in an apartment at 2750 Somerset Drive on Jan. 14. An 11-month-old who is the child of Belizaire and Barnett was at the scene but was left unharmed, police said.

Belizaire was released in March after a grand jury decided not to indict him, recommending further investigation be done and additional evidence be presented.

Weeks after his release, Belizaire was arrested again, this time on weapons charges. Miami-Dade Police said a black and silver semiautomatic Ruger 9mm firearm was discovered by an officer during a traffic stop.

Contact Us