A Miami-Dade judge ordered Derrick Brown, 38, held on no bond Monday after police said they arrested him on numerous charges in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash in West Perrine.
Brown was arrested early Sunday for his involvement in the crash that killed Monica Patterson at Southwest 105th Avenue and 176th Street in south Miami-Dade County last Monday, according to Miami-Dade Police.
Brown was a fugitive wanted by the state of Georgia for trafficking methamphetamines – and after the crash, he made several recorded phone calls to the Gwinnett County Jail in that state in which he admitted to driving the black 2002 GMC Yukon Denali involved when the crash occurred and to fleeing the scene, police said in his arrest affidavit.
Brown also confessed to a witness through cell phone voice calls and text messages, according to the affidavit.
He appeared in court with a swollen and bruised right eye, but how he received the injury was not mentioned.
The affidavit said that Brown was arrested in a room at 2305 Northeast 123rd St., which is the White House Inn on the Bay.
“He was arrested by the federal fugitive task force. We were working on a surrender, and they found him before he was able to surrender,” his attorney told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Rodney Smith.
He faces one count each of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a crash with death, leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, and two counts each of aggravated fleeing and eluding with death or injury and driving with a suspended driver license with death or serious injury, police said.
Police said that Robbery Intervention Detail detectives tried to stop the Denali because it looked suspicious, but the driver fled and they lost sight of it.
The truck was heading south on Southwest 105th Avenue at a high speed and ran a stop sign before it struck a red 2006 Ford Taurus – which was heading west on Southwest 176th Street – on its passenger side, police said. The suspect and an unknown passenger got away on foot, according to the affidavit.
Patterson was pronounced dead on the scene, while the driver of the Taurus, 56-year-old Eloise Lewis, was taken to Kendall Regional Trauma Center in critical condition with serious injuries that included a broken clavicle, police said.
Brown’s record includes just over 10 years that he served in prison for a federal conviction for cocaine trafficking followed by five years of supervised release, a prosecutor said.
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“That supervised release was violated. So it’s the state’s position that he’s an extreme danger to the community and a flight risk,” she said.
Judge Smith ordered Brown held on no bond on the crash-related charges, and set his bond at $6,000 for the drug charges from Georgia, which include a charge possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana. Brown also faces a civil writ from Broward County, police said.
Brown’s attorney said they would object to no bond being set on charges “that are fully bondable.” Smith replied that she could take it up with the next judge to handle the case, but said that based on the death charges and Brown’s history, he was leaving Brown with no bond.
Smith did agree with the attorney’s request for the corrections department to give Brown the medical attention he needs. She said he has a broken jaw, and has some damage to his eyes.
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