Armed robbers terrorize immigrant partygoers
One man wArmed robbers terrorize immigrant partygoersas killed and a group of recent Cuban immigrants terrorized by a band of armed robbers in Miami Gardens.
Posted on Tue, Jul. 22, 2008reprint print email
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BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
For a group of recently arrived Cuban immigrants, Sunday night's party felt like home. They drank beer, danced salsa on the small concrete driveway and barbecued chicken, pork and sausage.

Their bond: roots in Bahia Honda in the western province of Pinar del Rio.

The night winded down quite happily -- until gun-wielding masked men burst through the driveway gate in Miami Gardens, beat a pregnant woman until her eye swelled shut, robbed the crowd of their money and jewelry and shot a 29-year-old father to death.

READY TO LEAVE

''I don't want to stay here anymore,'' cried partygoer Lieter Morales, 19, nine months removed from the island. She slumped next to the side of a red car parked in the driveway Monday afternoon, hugging her knees. ``He was a good person.''

MaikelCorrer-Crespo, 29, was shot twice, friends said. Paramedics rushed him to Jackson Memorial Hospital, but doctors could not save him.

Correr-Crespo died just after the sun rose Monday.

The handyman had arrived in Miami by boat less than two years ago. He left behind two young girls in Cuba. He has a wife, Yuli, whom he lived with in Hialeah.

''These people were at a celebration when they were attacked. We really need the community's help,'' said Miami-Dade Detective Nelda Fonticiella, a spokeswoman.

Miami-Dade homicide detectives don't have a firm description of the robbers.

The party was of no special occasion -- just a chance for those from Bahia Honda to hang out at a friend's home, 2040 NW 152nd St., across from Magnolia Park Baptist Church near the edge of Opa-locka.

At its peak Sunday afternoon, more than 30 people gathered in the small yard.

No one thought potential robbers might be watching. ''We're Cubans who recently arrived here. We don't have that mentality,'' said Yaikimi Miranda, 23, a handyman and former Cuban judo competitor, who celebrated nine months in Miami on Sunday.

Just before 1 a.m., the crowd had thinned. A woman opened the mechanized white iron gate to throw a bag of empty Budweiser beer cans into the garbage can.

She saw a group of men -- holding what appeared to be rifles, partygoers said -- emerge from a grayish car.

Before the gate closed, the men jumped through the opening, unhinging and stopping the gate. They ordered everyone on the ground, collecting wallets, chains and other property.

One robber hit a woman, five months pregnant, in the face.

''We don't know anyone here. We don't know why they would do this,'' said Andris Muñoz, 26.

RESISTED ROBBERS

But Correr-Crespo apparently resisted, clutching his chain.

During the struggle, he was shot on the pavement across from the yard and ran down the sidewalk. He was chased down and shot again, partygoers said.

Purple-black pools of blood marked both spots.

''I don't understand why people are so bad,'' Miranda said.

Anyone with information can call Miami-Dade's homicide bureau at 305-471-2400 or Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers at 305-471-TIPS.



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