Four men were taken into custody early Thursday morning after allegedly breaking into several cars in a Westchester neighborhood and then shooting at one of the neighborhood's residents as he chased after them in his car.
Randy Meija, 19, Michael Rucker, 18, Kevin Aleman, 19, and Josten Medina, 20, were charged with several counts of burglary, grand theft and attempted murder.
According to arrest reports, the four suspects arrived at the area of 93rd Place and 30th Terrace in Westchester around 1:20 a.m., where they began checking for vehicles with unlocked doors.
They were successful in gaining entry into at least two cars, and allegedly stole $500 worth of tools and objects from one car and a firearm, wallet and $121 cash from another, according to the report.
In total, the four suspects allegedly tried to get away with $2,000 worth of valuables.
One resident, Arniel Santana, saw the suspects trying to enter his car through his CCTV and ran out to stop them. Santana was able to see them getting into a gray Toyota corolla, after which he got in his own car and began to scan the neighborhood looking for the vehicle.
On his way back home, Santana spotted the corolla and began to follow it, which is when one of the suspects allegedly leaned his entire upper torso out from within the vehicle, aimed a firearm and shot six times at Santana, according to the report.
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When a Miami-Dade police officer responded to the call, he found the corolla travelling eastbound on SW 32nd Street, approaching SW 87th Avenue. The car crashed, and all four suspects fled the scene.
A perimeter was set up, and at approximately 3:10 a.m., all four suspects had been located and taken into custody, according to the report. A semi-automatic handgun was recovered near where the corolla had crashed.
The suspects were questioned by police, and one was sent to Palmetto Hospital for an injury sustained from the crash.
