It’s Friday, May 13th – and NBC 6 has your top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Authorities are searching for a trio of suspects behind a smash-and-grab robbery of a jewelry store at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise.
The robbery happened the night of April 27 at the Pollack Jewelers store inside the mall. "I've heard of grab and runs and things like this but nothing ever this violent," said Steven Pollack, who has owned the store for more than 20 years. Authorities said a woman pepper-sprayed two employees as two men shattered a display counter and stole multiple watches.
No. 2 - Thursday marked the 25th anniversary of the infamous twister known as the "Great Miami Tornado."
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The F1 tornado was eight miles long with winds between 100 to 120 mph when it touched down on May 12, 1997. The system had a path of destruction from 30 to 100 yards wide and made its way from Little Havana to downtown Miami and onto Miami Beach before dissipating. The twister looked menacing as it swept through the area for about 15 minutes, but caused about $525,000 in damage and no fatalities.
No. 3 - A South Florida man is speaking out for the first time since he says he was severely harmed by police when they arrested him at his Opa-locka home.
Jafet Castro-Reyes spoke exclusively to NBC 6 and is now suing Opa-locka Police for the incident back in September 2020. "They treat me like animal," Castro-Reyes said. "They put me on my face. They put the stun gun." Opa-locka Police responded to a call for help at the home of then 19-year-old Castro-Reyes, who has mental disabilities. His family says they wanted professional assistance in calming him down and that he was already restrained, but instead, they watched as police abused Castro-Reyes and tased him multiple times.
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No. 4 - Gathered at a ceremony Thursday to honor the 98 people who died in a South Florida condominium collapse last summer, some of the victims' family members said they are too deep in mourning to contemplate the nearly $1 billion settlement their attorneys negotiated on their behalf.
Families and local officials gathered at the chain-link fence surrounding the vacant lot where Champlain Towers South once stood for the unveiling of temporary banners adorned with the victims' names and ages under the heading "Fathers, Mothers, Sons, Daughters, Brothers, Sisters.” The ceremony took place a day after the surprise announcement that a $997 million settlement had been reached in the families' lawsuit against local officials, the developers of an adjacent building and others whom they hold responsible for the collapse of the 40-year-old, 12-story beachside building during the early hours of June 24.
No. 5 - Sunrise resident Julian Dorsky turned 106 on Thursday, and he says his secret for a long life is the good life with his family.
"It's one of the greatest treasures of being 106. I get my family together," he said. Some of Julian's family flew in from Massachusetts and California for the special day. Julian has three children, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His daughter Carole Karlin lives near him in Sunrise. "He reads the New York Times every day and he's constantly calling me to get books for him," Karlin said. "He likes to own the books, so I have to order them for him, and he gives me a list just about every week." Julian is from Coney Island, New York, and worked as a chemist and researcher. He graduated from Penn State and Purdue University with a Ph.D. by the time he was 22 years old.
No. 6 - For the first 24 minutes of action Thursday night, it looked like the Miami Heat might have some work to do. For the last 24 minutes, it was yet another convincing win and another trip to the next round.
Jimmy Butler was again the star in leading the Heat with 32 points as Miami won 99-90 to win the Eastern Conference semifinals in six games. Miami took a 48-47 lead into the half thanks to 16 points in the first half from guard Max Strus and 10 points off the bench from guard Tyler Herro. The Heat extend the lead with a 19-4 start to the third quarter thanks in part to buckets from forwards Butler and P.J. Tucker along with center Bam Adebayo.
