negligent security

Published on: July 28, 2025

‘It Doesn’t Go Away:’ Flamingo Point Armed Robbery Victims and Leesfield & Partners Clients Speak Out Following Harrowing Ordeal.

Leesfield & Partners is representing three victims of a traumatic armed robbery that took place on June 17 at Flamingo Point, a luxury apartment complex in Miami Beach.

The case is being led by Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm. Leesfield & Partners, a personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience representing the victims of crimes and negligent security cases, filed the lawsuit against Mr. Lopez, the building’s security company, Flamingo Point and its parent company.

On Tuesday, July 15, at the Leesfield & Partners office on U.S. 1 in Coconut Grove, Jacob Kirstein, Kylee Holland and Gary Burns spoke out to the media regarding the terrifying ordeal.

Published on: June 3, 2025

String of South Florida Shootings Raise Safety Alarms. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A string of South Florida shootings that made headlines over the weekend raise alarms about safety and security at grocery stores and shopping centers.

The first of the three shootings took place in a Pembroke Pines shopping plaza Saturday morning. It began with a verbal argument at the Pembroke Gardens shopping plaza and ended with gunfire, according to local media reporting. When police arrived, they found one man who had been shot. His injuries were non-life-threatening, according to previous reporting.

The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made.

Published on: February 19, 2025

Broward County High School Teacher Faces Felony Charge After Student Reports ‘Disturbing Messages.’

By Leesfield & Partners

A teacher with the Broward County School District is facing felony charges after allegedly soliciting an 11^th grader, police say.

Lem McKinney, 40, of Broward County, was charged with a second-degree felony Tuesday after police said he solicited a student to engage in sexual conduct via social media. If convicted of the charge, penalties could include a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to 15 years in prison.

McKinney was a social science teacher at J.P. Taravella High School, a public school located in Coral Springs.

Published on: February 13, 2025

Teen Assaulted on Airplane Documented the Incident for Authorities. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A 17-year-old girl was groped aboard a JetBlue airplane flying from Puerto Rico to Boston by a father of four and photographed the incident as it occurred for police.

Now the man accused of the assault is facing charges.

The man, flying with his wife and children, allegedly reached in between the seat cushions of a young girl in the seat in front of him on Aug. 30. The girl used her cellphone to take pictures as he allegedly reached into her seat.

Published on: December 19, 2024

Fort Lauderdale Man Accused in Amazon Delivery Driver Stabbing from Earlier this Month

By Leesfield & Partners

Police have found the man they say is responsible for the stabbing of an Amazon driver earlier this month in Fort Lauderdale.

Curtis Gardner, 33, was charged Monday with attempted murder, armed carjacking and burglary with battery.

The incident happened on Dec. 7 around 7:30 p.m. while the delivery driver’s vehicle was disabled with a flat tire. Police alleged Curtis pulled out a knife and stabbed the driver before leaving.

Published on: December 10, 2024

Amazon Worker Stabbed Saturday in Fort Lauderdale. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

An Amazon delivery driver was hospitalized with serious injuries following a stabbing while on duty over the weekend, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Police were called out to the 1100 block of Northwest 10th Terrace just after 7:30 p.m. to a report of a stabbing. The driver’s vehicle was disabled when they were approached by their alleged assailant.

The driver was taken to Broward Medial Center. Additional details whether anything was taken in the incident or the condition of the driver as of Monday morning were not immediately available.

Published on: November 27, 2024

Brothers Face Felony Charges for Attack on Miami Mechanic Monday, officials say

By Leesfield & Partners

Two brothers face felony charges after police accused them of attacking a worker and using his own gun against him in Miami mechanic shop brawl Monday afternoon.

Pedro Luis Rodriguez, 40, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and Angel Rodriguez-Candano, 32, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm. Aggravated battery with a deadly weapon is a second-degree felony in Florida that, if convicted, can carry up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Penalties for aggravated assault with a firearm include up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, if convicted.

The alleged incident stemmed from a dispute that broke out Monday afternoon at Tire Liquidators, a shop located at 2090 Southwest 67th Avenue. Police told local reporters that the two brothers argued with the unnamed mechanic over past repairs made to Rodriguez’s vehicle. The two brothers allegedly followed the mechanic into the shop’s office where, police said, Rodriguez began punching him several times. At one point in the altercation, the mechanic pulled out a gun that Rodriguez-Candano lunged for, according to the report. The brawl between the three men continued until the mechanic fired the weapon three times.

Published on: October 25, 2024

Lawsuit Filed Following Shooting at Miami Gardens Community

By Leesfield & Partners

In 2023, the families of Edward Dixon and Taborez White were rocked by the news of their deaths in two separate shootings within the same Miami Gardens community. Now, over a year after their deaths, their families have banded together in a lawsuit, claiming that Cedar Grove Apartments, the complex where the shootings took place, didn’t do enough to protect them.

“He was in the prime of his life when he was ripped from this Earth and us,” Marcia Dixon, Dixon’s mother, said in a press conference Wednesday.

Dixon went to the apartment complex to visit a friend in January 2023 when he was shot, his mother told local media.

Published on: August 9, 2024

Women injured after shooting at Broward Restaurant. This isn’t the first time.

By Leesfield & Partners

Two women were rushed to the hospital for injuries incurred following a shooting Wednesday morning at a Broward restaurant, according to reporting from local news outlets.

Emergency responders were called out to the restaurant around 2 a.m. for reports of shots fired and found that one woman had been taken to HCA Florida Plantation Emergency for treatment while another was also taken to the hospital.

The first woman was shot while the second had non-shooting-related injuries. The first woman was stable as of Wednesday, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. Both women were taken to the hospital by friends.

Published on: July 2, 2024

Lawsuit Filed in Case of City of Doral Police Department Officers injured in April shooting at Martini Bar

By Leesfield & Partners

Two police officers with the City of Doral Police Department are suing a local bar, its managing company, a security company and one other after a man was allowed inside the location with a gun.

The shooting happened on April 6, 2024, at the Martini Bar Doral, located at 3450 NW 83rd Ave., Suite 144. The two officers, Andre A. Romo and Ricardo A. Acevedo, were patrolling the area on off-duty detail when a dispute broke out involving 37-year-old Jamal Wayne Wood who entered the bar with a gun. The shooting resulted in the death of a security guard and the injury of seven others, including the two responding officers. Wood was also killed that night by responding officers.

Acevedo and and Romo responded to the scene after seeing the chaos of fleeing patrons. Both officers were injured by the stampede of customers as they tried to get inside to stop Wood’s rampage. Wood aimed and shot at Romo and Acevedo and the other officers who responded to the scene. Romo was “dangerously close” to being hit and Acevedo was shot in the leg, mere centimeters from his femoral artery, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney with Leesfield & Partners, P.A..