A man accused of shooting his ex-mother-in-law in Miami Gardens claims he did it in self-defense and was hoping to get placed on house arrest. NBC6’s Christian Colón reports
A man accused of shooting his ex-mother-in-law in Miami Gardens was hoping to get placed on house arrest to wait for his trial at home.
Bilal Ismail, 49, is facing attempted first-degree murder for allegedly shooting his ex-wife's mother in the hand and head.
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WATCH HEREOn Wednesday, Gary Florencio, a Miami Gardens police officer, told Judge Christine Hernandez, the bullet, which was fired from a handmade gun, went through the victim's forehead and into her lungs.
"She looked up and saw him with the gun pointed at her, and I believe she said he called her (expletive) in Spanish," Florencio said while relaying what the surviving victim told him during an interview two weeks after the shooting.
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Ismail is accused of shooting his mother-in-law at a home in the 400 block of 203rd Terrace in April.
He fled the scene after the shooting but was taken into custody the next day, police said.
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During Ismail's first appearance in court, the victim's daughter, his ex-wife, told the judge he had been stalking her for months and had put four GPS trackers on her car.
The woman said Ismail hates her mom and had threatened to kill her.
On Wednesday, Florencio said Ismail admitted to having issues with his ex-mother-in-law.
"Basically, he did everything he needed to do for her and the kids, but after the money was gone, that’s when she decided to kick him out, and that the mother-in-law was also involved in that and tried to get him away from him for somebody younger," Florencio said.
Prosecutors also stated Ismail knew the woman was home alone when he secretly went into the property, cut the internet wires to prevent the cameras from recording, and shot the woman.
On the other hand, Ismail's attorneys claimed he shot in self-defense after the woman allegedly attacked him. The defendant's loved ones, including an ex-wife and brother, also tried convincing the judge to grant him house arrest as a form of release.
"He went to that home, he cut the internet wires, he crouched to get into the home in a way to avoid detention. He then entered the home and we saw in the video the 2 shots he fired at Ms.Cruz. He then left the resident locked the door made sure the door was locked and walked away as if nothing ever happened," Judge Hernandez said.
Hernandez denied granting Ismail a bond after raising concerns for the surviving victims and how he had evaded apprehension.
Ismail is facing up to life in prison if convicted and must stay in jail until trial.
