Two of the five suspects arrested in the robbery and killing of an armored truck guard at Calder Casino and Race Course in Miami Gardens were Calder employees, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Calder employees Reginald Mitchell and Uri Ammar, both 26, were among five people arrested Monday and charged in the Sunday heist and shooting, according to a criminal complaint released by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Also arrested were Vladimir Louissant, 25, Victoria Barkley, 26, Byron Kyler, 23.
All the suspects are being held without bond. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 6.
According to the complaint, Mitchell met with Louissant, Barkley and Kyler on Sunday to discuss and plan the robbery of a Brinks truck at the casino. During the meeting, Kyler agreed to lend his truck for the robbery, and Mitchell gave Louissant a gun, the complaint said.
Around 5 p.m., Barkley drove Mitchell and Louissant to pick up the truck at Wal-Mart near the casino, the complaint said.
When Mitchell and Louissant arrived at Calder, the Brinks guard was walking back to his truck, being escorted by Ammar, according to the complaint.
That's when Louissant, armed with the gun, approached the guard, who drew his weapon and opened fire on Louissant. Louissant fired twice at the guard, hitting him, before grabbing a bag of money and running to the getaway truck being driven by Mitchell, the complaint said.
About $345,000 was in the money bag, according to the complaint.
The two dropped off the truck and were picked up by Barkley, and Louissant was taken to Memorial Hospital in Pembroke Pines for treatment for a wound he received in the gunfire, the complaint said.
The guard was taken to Ryder Trauma Center, where he died. The guard was identified by his parents as Alvaro Lopez Ramos. They said he was a former member of the National Guard who lived in Homestead.
After their getaway, Mitchell and Barkley hid some of the money and used some to gamble at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, the complaint said.
All five suspects were arrested Monday by members of the South Florida Violent Crimes Task Force without incident.
After and investigation, it was learned Ammar had been involved in the robbery and had tipped off Mitchell to the arrival of the Brinks truck, the complaint said.
In a statement issued Monday, Calder president Austin Miller expressed condolences to the guard's family and said they were "fully cooperating with the law enforcement agencies during this ongoing investigation."
