It’s Friday, August 19th – and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - A Miami firefighter is under investigation for vulgar comments he allegedly made while referring to a Miami-Dade Police detective who was killed in the line of duty this week.
The comments were allegedly made by firefighter Kevin Newcomb in a group chat on WhatsApp following the death of Det. Cesar "Echy" Echaverry, who was shot in the head during a confrontation with an armed robbery suspect Monday night. "Who cares another dead cop probably against gun control," the message read, in part. "Cops exist for the government to exercise its monopoly on violence. They want the whole world to stop when one of theirs goes down." The firefighter also mentioned the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and police officers who'd died from COVID-19. In a statement Thursday, Miami Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban said the department is aware of the message and the firefighter has not yet been terminated.
No. 2 - Police have arrested a man who they say shot an architecture student after stealing $1 from him last month in Miami Beach.
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Miami Beach Police detectives took Ranier Figueroa, 25, into custody Thursday at a hotel in Miami Springs in connection with the July 21 shooting. Miami Beach Police said the victim and his friend were sitting on the front steps of a building on the 1000 block of Eighth Street near Michigan Court when the suspect walked past them and asked for a dollar. As they tried to give the man a dollar, the suspect pulled out a gun with a laser and demanded everything. He then shot the victim, and stole $1 from him — as well as the friend’s wallet — before running away.
No. 3 - A student athlete who played on the football team at Florida International University and was the brother of Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox, has died at 22.
Luke Knox, who transferred to FIU after playing three seasons at Ole Miss, died at a local hospital Wednesday night, school officials said. "We are saddened by the sudden passing of Luke Knox, a member of the FIU Football program," the team said in a statement. "We send our thoughts and prayers to Luke’s family, friends and teammates during this difficult time." FIU players were told of Knox's death late Wednesday. Thursday's practice was canceled, and grief counselors were brought in to meet with the team and others from the university community.
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No. 4 - Multiple people throughout Florida who'd been disqualified from voting because of felony convictions are facing voter fraud charges, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.
DeSantis made the announcement during a news conference at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Some of the 20 people facing charges were from South Florida and were convicted of murder and sexual assault, which prohibits them from having their voting rights restored, DeSantis said. “The majority of these people voted illegally in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade,” he said. DeSantis said if convicted they face up to five years in prison. DeSantis did not elaborate because he said the cases were still under investigation.
No. 5 - The Virginia Key Outdoor Center has been in business for seven years, and now they have until Sept. 13 to get out.
On Aug. 12, City of Miami officers and code enforcement informed the owner that her lease with the city was terminated. “I’m toward the end of my lease. The city had a right to get rid of me if that’s what they wanted to do, but the way that they’re doing it, the way they are going about it," said Esther Alonso, the owner of the Virginia Key Outdoor Center. "I mean, I’m a kayak shop, and they’re like prosecuting me through Twitter at 10:30 at night on a Friday." The City of Miami sent the following statement to NBC 6, "The Virginia Key Outdoor Center (VKOC) was indefinitely shut down for several code violations including operating without a Certificate of Use (CU), or a Business Tax Receipt (BTR).
No. 6 - It’s the search for romance down below! We’d normally tell you that love is in the air, but in this case there’s no air required.
Turns out, after dark in mid-August is just the right time for corals to make a move towards the next generation—their growth vital in protecting South Florida’s coastline. Now the Department of Defense for the first time is bankrolling the University of Miami’s efforts to aid the reproduction. NBC 6 investigator Willard Shepard was the only local South Florida journalist to make the dive down below to see firsthand how it works. As the sun sets here in the Atlantic, the marine biologist from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School are using the daylight that’s left to check out this coral reef.
