Glenda Defas was parking her SUV in Miami earlier this month, when a man asked her for money. When she told the man she didn’t have any money, he approached her with a hammer and threatened her, she said.

Defas walked away, but moments later, the man got inside her SUV and took off. Her brother, who is disabled and deaf, was inside the vehicle but got out when the man hopped in.

The following day, her SUV — that she had spent seven years paying off — was totaled after a police pursuit ended in a crash in Miami Beach and the suspected carjacker, identified as Savalas Cigar, behind bars.

Weeks later, on Saturday morning, Defas received the surprise of a lifetime, after Rita Case — CEO of Rick Case Automotive — saw her story on NBC6.

“It was all over the news, NBC6 really covered it well. I heard the story and thought, man, you know, I’ve got a lot of cars — here, let me help this family,” Case said. “Knowing that her brother was in the car disabled and deaf, her being assaulted with a hammer just the whole trauma of it. I had to help.”

The Rick Case Automotive Group then gifted Defas a 2020 Honda Passport for free.

Defas told NBC6 that she felt all her prayers had been answered.

“I feel like Jesus listened to me and sent me angels — Sent me angles to release my tragedy,” Defas said. “I feel in shock, I feel like this is a dream. I don’t want to wake up.”

Meanwhile, Cigar is charged with grand theft and fleeing and aggravated eluding a police officer.

But this month, those plans were nearly upended.

He started getting calls about his listing that lot for sale for $160,000.

The problem: he never listed it.

A realtor told NBC6 he was contacted by a man posing as Torrey, replete with a copy of a fake driver’s license and an email address that included Torrey’s name – so he listed it on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

After being contacted about the listing, “That’s when I said, what? So, I went home, I looked it up on Zillow and I put my address in Google, and there’s my lot for sale with every real estate company in the world,” Torrey recalled. “I had nothing to do with it.”

An impostor had begun a plot to scam him out of the lot, and, had he succeeded, “I think I would have had to spend a lot of money with lawyers to reverse it,” Torrey said.

“We hear it all the time,” said Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar. “You know, vacant lots are targeted constantly by criminals.”

Walls in one of his staff’s Fort Lauderdale offices are lined with a rogue’s gallery of property-title thieves.

Pointing at them, he said, “You know, unfortunately, South Florida is the title fraud capital of the world.”

And lots like Torrey’s are easy pickings.

“Unfortunately, vacant lots are properties that are really targeted by criminals. And the reason they target them is because people don’t live there,” Kiar said.

To catch them quickly, he’s created Owner Alert, https://web.bcpa.net/owneralert, a free service that sends property owners emails and texts once Kiar’s office is informed by the county clerk that a property has changed hands.

But, by then, a fraudulent deed transfer has already taken place.

Still, it allows a victim to quickly take the necessary steps to protect their property before the title is clouded further.

“I wish there was a way to stop it beforehand,” Kiar said, “but there really isn’t. But that’s why people should just be very, very vigilant.”

Or in Torrey’s case, very lucky.

Not so lucky, those caught advertising property that’s not theirs. A law just passed unanimously in Tallahassee makes that a felony.

“It’s a great law, and I cannot wait for it to be utilized,” Kiar said, “because the people that do this need to be held accountable.”

And Kiar will be glad to find more wall space for the mug shots yet to come.

After Torrey said he was passed along by the Broward Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney, Clerk of Court, Florida Attorney General, and FBI , NBC6 On Your Side put him in touch with Kiar’s investigators, who he said are looking into the case.

The flyers or door hangers are from companies that sell and install water filtration systems. But the notices can be misleading – and so does the sales pitch when you call for more information.

The door hangers are popping up at homes in Miami Shores, Kendall and South Dade. One hanger has the word “notice” in bold letters with the image of a water drop below it, reading, “Very important water notice. Please contact us within 3 days” – and it also provides a phone number to call.

The water solicitation notices prompted Miami-Dade’s Water and Sewer Department to issue an alert.

“What’s important for the viewers to know is that they’re not associated with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department,” spokeswoman Jennifer Messemer-Skold said. “We are committed to delivering safe drinking water to all of our customers, but the other thing is we want you to be safe, too, and we don’t want people to mistakenly think that they’re contacting our department and having people come into your home.”

Messemer-Skold said the companies will offer to sample your water for free.

“There have been instances where we have heard from our customers that they’ve come, they’ve done their dog and pony show, they’ve tested their water, and they use scare tactics,” she said.

NBC6 called the number on the hanger. A machine answered and said, “Hello, and thank you for calling Water Inspection Services where water quality is our priority.”

After a brief hold, a man claiming to be Hector Sanchez, the owner of Water Inspection Services, answered and agreed to a phone interview.

“So we just try to help, you know, the community know what kind of water do they have,” he said.

Within a minute of talking, Sanchez seemed to use the tactics that the Water and Sewer Department warned about.

“The water from the actual water department for Miami-Dade and Sewer, they use chemicals to clean the water,” he claimed. “Unfortunately, some other chemicals like chlorine, lead, arsenic can be dangerous, or maybe they can affect in the long term the human body.”

The Water and Sewer Department says that’s just not true.

“Miami-Dade Water and Sewer provides drinking water that meets or exceeds all local, state and federal drinking water requirements and filters are not necessary,” Messemer-Skold said. “Now if you want to buy a filter because that’s for your personal taste, that’s fine, but you do not need one in order to use the water.”

If you want to know more about your water quality, there is a yearly report online.

Jurors found Otis Burns II guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and attempted robbery.

“I’m just very glad with the outcome and hopefully this guy will never hurt anyone again,” said Elizabeth Fundora, the victim’s mother.

Jurors found Burns killed Danny Fundora and injured his cousin Alex Fundora in February 2013 after leaving an Opa-locka supermarket. Prosecutors argued it was a robbery gone bad. 

Four years after the unsolved murder, NBC6 reported about the case and a viewer called in a crucial tip. That tip led to the arrest of Burns.

“We thank you for your work, because without your work, we wouldn’t have this moment,” William Fundora said. “You brought this to light, and that created the tip that brought this man to prison. And Detective Denmark and his team did an outstanding job.” 

“If it hadn’t been for that interview on that Memorial Day weekend, this would have never happened,” Elizabeth Fundora said. “So I thank you so much. I hope that you solve a lot more cases for a lot of other families.”

Jurors deliberated for more than six hours. When the verdict was read, the Fundora family was in tears. Burns showed little emotion but later smiled at relatives in the courtroom. 

“We were very nervous we didn’t know what was going on if that was going to be dropped to a lesser charge, and that wouldn’t be justice,” William Fundora said.

During sentencing, Danny Fundora’s family gave impact statements and addressed Burns. His sister showed compassion and wished him peace and healing.

“I understand that you and your family live a very different life and have to worry over things that you shouldn’t have to,” Natalie Fundora said. “I wish things could be different for all of us. I wish you could have reclaimed your life and lived happily with your family and that you never crossed paths with my cousin nor my brother.”

Burns has been sentenced to life in prison.

His efforts caught the eye of the Miami Heat — and now, his goal is a reality.

Nicholas Spence, 12, was slaving under the hot sun, collecting hundreds of mangoes for neighbors, and splitting the earnings with them.

“I go out and ask people if I can harvest the mangoes, and we can, if they don’t want the mangoes, I can give them some money for it, or we can split the mangoes, you get 20 I get 20,” Nicholas told NBC6 back in May.

Since that interview, he’s been filling up his piggy bank, and at the same time, his story on NBC6 caught the eye of the Miami Heat.

“There’s this kid selling mangoes to go to basketball camp, and for us, we are always trying to instill in kids to go and do something, if you want something to go after it,” said Julian Sanchez, the manager of JR Heat. “So, when we heard Nick’s story, he’s out there collecting mangoes to sell to go to camp, the fact that he did it and took the initiative to try and do it, why not bring him to the best camp in South Florida?”

The Miami Heat JR Camp was an unexpected surprise for Nicholas.

“I think it’s going to be fun, and I think I’m going to be way better,” he said.

His hard work now allows him to scrimmage, sweat, and perfect his craft.

“I love basketball, so I like it a lot, it’s better than sitting at home,” Nicholas said with a laugh.

He said that he has learned a thing or two both on the court and in his side hustle.

But the most important takeaway from collecting mangoes?

Nicholas first answered, “Probably meeting and talking to people.”

He then paused and thought.

“Also, I didn’t think it was that hard to work,” he said with a laugh.

“It was kind of hard at first,” he further explained. “I didn’t want to wake up and go pick up mangoes, but I started liking it and it made it easier.”

Since we last spoke, Nicholas said he’s collected over 300 mangos, a feat that’s paved the way for this week.

“I just want to say thank you, and it means a lot to me that people would want to help with this. It means a lot,” he said.

If you would like to learn more about JR Heat, click here.

If you would like to learn more about SoFla Boy Mangoes, click here.

“They should charge me for the water that I spent,” homeowner Marina Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez saw her bill skyrocket from around $90 bucks a month to over $1,000. 

At the time, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department blamed the issue on a limited number of new automated meters that weren’t synced with the water department’s billing system. 

The department was relying on what’s known as “estimated billing.”

Estimated billing is when the department uses information from your previous consumption to estimate what you may have used in water.   

After we reached out to the Miami-Dade WASD, a spokesperson said they would reevaluate the bills of the customers with the new meters. 

Since that story aired, we’ve heard from more Miami Springs residents who say they have also encountered issues with their water bills. 

“I have allocated funds for certain bills. I don’t mind paying for something I consume,” homeowner Miriam Rodriguez told us. 

She says the amount she owes has doubled month to month compared to previous years. 

When we reached back out to the Miami-Dade WASD, we learned more information about the issue plaguing some Miami Springs residents. 

In total around 400 meters were impacted by the previous billing issue but the department spokesperson told us all of these “accounts are now receiving bills based on actual consumption and not on estimates.” 

When we asked about how the department handles estimated billing, a spokesperson explained the department doesn’t have an estimated reading program like some other counties, but instead, they only use estimated readings that are based on a customer’s previous consumption “when a water meter is inaccessible, damaged or fails to communicate” to their system. 

If you notice the words “estimated reading” on your bill for several months in a row, it could be because of problems such as access issues, no replacement meters being available, or meter communication issues. 

The Miami WASD says these issues are not what is causing Miriam’s bill to be higher, and that her meter is working properly. 

They told us they plan on reaching out to her directly to give her more information on her billing. 

According to the Miami-Dade WASD website, you can check to see if your meter was misread by copying down the numbers on your meter and comparing them to the numbers on your utility bill under the current reading. 

The numbers on the meter should be equal to or higher than what you see on your bill.

According to the DOT, “Any cancellation or significant change in a flight is eligible for a refund, regardless of the reason for it,” including weather-related cancellations.

So, what exactly is a “significant change?”

An agency spokesperson told our sister station, NBC 5 in Chicago: “Significant changes to a flight include departure or arrival times that are more than 3 hours domestically and 6 hours internationally; departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections,” and more.

In addition to significant flight changes, consumers may be compensated for delayed luggage.

The DOT explained that passengers who file a mishandled baggage report will be entitled to a refund of their checked bag fee if it is not delivered within 12 hours of their domestic flight arriving at the gate, or 15-30 hours of their international flight arriving at the gate, depending on the length of the flight.

Under the new rules, airlines must compensate passengers in cash or through their original form of payment.

Doing away with hidden fees

The Department of Transportation will also enact new rules regarding hidden fees.

Starting July 1, airlines are required to disclose all fees up-front instead of at checkout. The trade organization that represents and advocates for the U.S. airline industry, Airlines for America, has fought to reverse the new fee rule.

The group filed a petition for the U.S. Court of Appeals to review the Department of Transportation’s decision.

Airlines for America told NBC 5 Responds the fee transparency policies go beyond the DOT’s authority, saying airlines already go to great lengths to make their customers feel knowledgeable about these fees. It went on to say, disclosing all fees upfront would complicate the buying process.

As of Monday night, A4A’s request for court review was still moving through the legal system.

Airlines for America shared this statement with NBC 5 (Chicago) Responds regarding the fee transparency rule:

“U.S. airlines care deeply about the customer purchasing experience from first search to final purchase and invest heavily in their websites and mobile apps to ensure both transparency of all costs and ease of use for each customer with a purchase path tailored to that customer’s specific choices. Airlines already provide consumers with complete disclosure of all fees associated with air travel before they purchase a ticket.”

“The ancillary fee rule by the Department of Transportation will greatly confuse consumers who will be inundated with information that will only serve to complicate the buying process.”

“DOT’s attempt to regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace is beyond its authority. DOT has failed to establish that consumers are unable to obtain information about ancillary fees. To the contrary, consumers are well-aware of the existence of ancillary services fees. Airlines go to great lengths to make their customers knowledgeable about these fees. In addition to the disclosures required by existing DOT regulations, airlines engage in competitive advertising and emphasize ancillary fee discounts and benefits when they promote their loyalty programs. The DOT ancillary rule is a bad solution in search of a problem.”

Additional details from the DOT on airline cancellation policies:

“Any cancellation or significant change in a flight is eligible for a refund, regardless of the reason for it. Significant changes to a flight include departure or arrival times that are more than 3 hours domestically and 6 hours internationally; departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections; instances where passengers are downgraded to a lower class of service; or connections at different airports or flights on different planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability.”

“The final rule on refunds and other consumer protections will be effective on June 25, 2024, however the rule provides for lengthier implementation periods. The implementation period ranges from six months for airlines to provide automatic refunds when owed to 12 months for airlines to provide transferable travel vouchers or credits when consumers are unable to travel for reasons related to a serious communicable disease.”

There’s the rising cost of living especially for housing, on-going traffic woes, and consumer issues tied to builders, HOAs, medical issues and travel troubles (to name a few). 

Since WTVJ launched as Florida’s first television station, it has served the communities of South Florida by spotlighting the issues unique to this area and the dangers that threaten our safety, including tropical weather. 

That’s why NBC6 is On Your Side. 

At NBC6, we are committed to helping you – our valued Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe county audiences – to navigate living in South Florida. 

If you have a consumer complaint or issue, our NBC6 Responds team answers every call and email. Submit a Consumer Complaint here.

And when severe weather threatens, our First Alert team of meteorologists is a trusted source to keep you prepared and ahead of any dangerous storms coming our way. 

No matter how or where you get your news, NBC6 is here to help you. 

That’s NBC6 On Your Side.  

NBC6 first told you about the company back in February.

Thomas and Theresa Topolski reached out to NBC6 Responds when they couldn’t get a refund after their short-term rental booking was canceled by the company last minute. 

The company’s website promises to help people with the rental process, but the Topolskis say they got the runaround when they tried to get a refund for the $3,588 deposit they paid. 

“We’re not rich. I’m a retired teacher and a secretary saving to do these things, and there are other people just like me,” Thomas Topolski said.

Now other people are speaking about the refund woes they have experienced with Houzlet.

“He was looking for a luxury condominium in Miami Beach,” Jessica Ruggieri said.

Ruggieri operates a short-term rental management company and also helps international clients find and book properties on other platforms.

“I did online research to see that they’d been in the market for a very long time. I’ve seen that they hosted over 30,000 listings, and that they had good reviews,” Ruggieri said. 

She says she helped a client book a two-month stay at a luxury condo in Miami Beach she found on Houzlet’s website. The client paid nearly $40,000 up front at the time of booking. But a week before the reservation, she says the company canceled on her client.

“They offered us to search for another property. They weren’t able to find a replacement property in the vicinity,” Ruggieri said.

Therese Silicato and her husband also were left with a canceled reservation. Their reservation, booked through the VRBO website, was canceled a month before they were set to arrive in Bradenton, Florida for vacation. 

“They said that you had to, because of their programming, that they could not return money after 180 days of the original booking. And of course, they waited till the 11th month,” Silicato explained. 

Both of the viewers NBC6 spoke to say Houzlet told them to dispute the charge with their banks, which didn’t work. In Ruggieri’s case, Houzlet explained they couldn’t refund the money to a third party. Both viewers eventually filed complaints with the Florida Attorney General’s Office after multiple attempts to get the money from Houzlet failed.

So far, the AG’s office has received more than 60 complaints against Houzlet. Most of the complaints are related to the company canceling refund and failing to give refunds. 

VRBO, which started working with Houzlet in 2022, cut ties with the company, telling NBC6 Responds in a statement, “We are no longer working with Houzlet and are not offering their properties on our sites. If a traveler’s stay has been canceled by Houzlet and they have not received a refund, we recommend they file a chargeback request with their bank in order to recoup any outstanding funds. In the event a chargeback request is not successful, the traveler may reach back out to VRBO customer support so that we can assist with next steps.”

Silicato reached out to VRBO’s customer support for help and she was able to get a refund.

Ruggieri says her client, who booked directly on the Houzlet website, is blaming her for the mishap, and she now worries this will tarnish her company’s reputation.

“He wants to come after us for the whole total of that cost that he lost. So, us as a small business, it would put us at a financial loss for a type of transaction like that,” Ruggieri said. 

Houzlet didn’t respond to our questions about these cases and other complaints about their refund policy, but they previously blamed their merchant’s refund policy, saying it doesn’t allow them to issue refunds for transactions made for over 180 days.

It’s all part of an infant swimming resource lesson known as ISR.

“We teach kids how to self-rescue, not just swim,” said Elisa Hernandez-Montero, an ISR instructor, and owner of www.somiisr.com.

The program runs five days a week. Each class is only 10 minutes long because children learn faster and retain skills best when taught frequently and in short intervals. It’s a commitment nurse practitioner Paola Hoover made when her daughter was six months old.

“We took a little break and then we learned of an unfortunate incident of someone close to us that had a drowning, and then that’s when we got back into it. We’re like, we have to start again,” she said.

Last year, 99 children drowned in Florida. The state leads the nation in child drowning deaths. So far this year, 53 children have already drowned, including an 8-year-old who recently made his way into a neighbor’s Fort Lauderdale pool and a 1-year-old who drowned in his backyard pool in Margate in April.

The alarming numbers don’t include non-fatal drownings like a young girl who was recently rescued from a South Florida pool and managed to walk away unhurt. Sadly, Mason Brown wasn’t that fortunate. He was a year old when he fell in his North Miami pool July 2017 and his life changed forever. 

“Mason got out three doors. One was the sliding door and we found him in the water. So severely brain injured ever since,” said Randy Brown, Mason’s dad.

Hoping to keep other children and families from going through the same pain, Brown became an ISR instructor in North Miami. 

“You don’t realize if you put your son or daughter in a car seat, you should be putting them in training to swim. So much water around us here in South Florida, anywhere in Florida,” Brown said.

Allison Hult, an ISR instructor from Boca, said it’s also important for parents to know CPR in case they come across an unresponsive child in a pool. 

“A child under 30 pounds can drown in under 30 seconds. So every, every second counts,” Hult said.

Florida law requires all pools to have barriers, yet statistics show an increase in child drownings. 

“We’re very big on teaching our parents layers of protection, fencing the pool, alarms on the doors, there’s alarms that can go in the pool, there’s cameras that monitor the zone and lets you know if there’s anybody in the water,” Hernandez-Montero said. “We want ISR and self-rescue to be the last layer of protection.”

It’s important to stress that these classes do not replace adult supervision. That needs to be in place whenever children are near the water. If you want to know more about ISR and find a local instructor, visit this link. 

ISR instructors tell us they offer scholarships for those families that can’t afford the program. Here’s a list of other free and low-cost swim lessons in our area.

• YMCA South Florida – Swim for Jenny
• YMCA South Florida – swim lessons
• Miami-Dade County swimming lessons
• Diversity in Aquatics (DIA) Swim Club
• Let Us Swim
• City of Miami Aquatics Programs
• Water Smart Broward – swim lessons
• Pembroke Pines Aquatics
• City of Fort Lauderdale – swim lessons
• City of Hollywood – swim lessons
• Palm Beach County Drowning Prevention Coalition
• Boyton Beach resources
• Wasau & Marathon County – swim lessons
• The College of the Florida Keys Pool & Recreation

Vera Armbrister and her husband have lived there for 50 years.

“I really don’t know what’s going on,” Armbrister said. “And we have never seen anything like this… over here, I just cleaned the dust off of it because there’s so much dust coming from this.”

She’s referring to how, on dry days, the dust from the concrete being dumped 400 feet away makes its way to her property. On the wet ones, water rises on Northwest 17^th Court.

“It’s not draining, and thank God no children are walking to school, because when it’s so bad the children that walk to school, they can’t walk to school,” Armbrister said.

In applying for permission to fill in Rock Pit Lake, the landowner said a nearby drain would funnel any water into the lake, but after the NBC6 Investigators found discrepancies in the plans, the city came out, looked into it and found it was not draining.

And it certainly was not functioning when NBC6 visited the neighborhood on Wednesday. 

The city and county also confirmed an adjacent FPL service center lot was not contributing to the water there, just as the application to Broward County stated.

But the NBC6 Investigators found that the application did omit a 16-acre area along Northwest 16^th Street that was in fact draining into the lake.

Now the county is demanding in a letter that the landowner pay more than $10,000 to modify plans to include that water.

The landowner, Jordan Zahlene, told NBC6 that in addition to unblocking the drain on 17^th Court, they “want to do what’s right for the environment and the neighborhood.”

His engineer has concluded the additional water would still not cause flooding during major storms, but the county wants more information before approving.

Meanwhile, the filling of Rock Pit Lake goes on.

It could take 100,000 dump truck loads, clean concrete, fill and construction debris to fill the 28-acre lake that is in some spots 60 feet deep.

Meanwhile, the drain on the street remains blocked from draining.

“Anybody that’s going around the corner it’s so much water that it’s a mess,” Armbrister said.

“Looked like the beginning of a zombie movie,” said Ted Rico, a tow truck driver who spent much of Wednesday night and Thursday morning helping to clear the streets of stalled vehicles. “There’s cars littered everywhere, on top of sidewalks, in the median, in the middle of the street, no lights on. Just craziness, you know. Abandoned cars everywhere.”

With many streets still flooded and more rain expected, it’s important take steps to avoid flood damage to your vehicle.

“If you’re driving toward standing water you want to stop and turn around because the unfortunate thing, is you just don’t know how deep that water could be and all it really takes is about six inches of water to cause damage to your vehicle’s exhaust system your vehicle could stall,” said Mark Jenkins, with the American Automobile Association.

Rico, of One Master Trucking Corp., was born and raised in Miami and said he was ready for the emergency.

“You know when its coming,” he said. “Every year it’s just getting worse and for some reason people just keep going through the puddles.”

Weather Jun 13

Flood watch after another round of rain soaks parts of South Florida

Flooding Jun 13

Are you in a flooded area? Send us your videos

Flooding Jun 13

What you need to know as South Florida is inundated with widespread flooding

What to do if your car gets stuck in flood water?

If your car stalls, experts with State Farm Insurance say you should not attempt to restart your vehicle because the engine could be damaged. Instead, it’s best to leave it immediately and seek higher safety.

My car is flooded. What should I do now?

When it’s safe, experts say you should tow your vehicle to a repair shop for an inspection before attempting to drive it.

“Before starting the vehicle, have it towed to an over pair facility to ensure that it has a full inspection before you take that vehicle out on the roadway again because there is a lot of damage that could impact the safety of that vehicle,” Jenkins said.

If your car does have damage, then it’s a good idea to get the insurance claim process rolling.

“Insurance companies are often bombarded with a lot of calls and they’re processing a lot of information the best thing that you can do to speed up the process is contact your insurance provider as soon as possible and get them the necessary information that they need to begin the process of filing that claim,” Jenkins said.

According to State Farm Insurance, as of Thursday morning they have received approximately 300 auto claims following the widespread flooding in South Florida.

If your car has been damaged, you should document the damage with pictures and video. Send this information to your insurance company right away.

The sooner the vehicle can be inspected and dried out, the less damage it will sustain.

What type of car insurance covers flood damage?

For your auto insurance to cover damage from rising flood waters, you need to have comprehensive coverage.

According to Progressive Insurance’s website, even if your car is stopped in floodwater or gets damaged by driving through a flooded street your comprehensive coverage may pay for the repairs.

If you don’t have comprehensive coverage, the cost to fix your vehicle will come out of your pocket.

“Miami has become a different city,” said Miami-Dade firefighter Meric Tendrich. “I’m born and raised here, and I’ve never seen so many boats out on the water.”

Tendrich works on the department’s fireboats, which respond to dangerous calls on South Florida’s waterways.

“There’s many accidents that are happening,” he said. “Drownings… and we are just trying to do our best to prevent all these things from happening.”

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the agency that tracks boating accidents throughout the state.

Biscayne Bay May 17

Video shows boater before and after teen's tragic death in Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay May 16

Biscayne Bay water sports safety takes center stage after teen's tragic death

According to the agency’s Florida Boating Accident Statistical Report for 2023, these were the numbers by county:

Miami-Dade: 61 accidents, 7 deaths and 21 accidents with injuries.

Monroe: 87 accidents, 3 deaths and 39 accidents with injuries.

Broward: 26 accidents, no deaths and 8 accidents with injuries.

NBC6 Investigators obtained preliminary data from the FWC for 2024 (January-May 21), which a spokesperson said represents cases being investigated currently and are not final numbers. Monroe County reported the highest number of accidents across the state. Here’s the breakdown:

Miami-Dade: 54 accidents, 5 deaths and 19 accidents with injuries.

Monroe: 64 accidents, 6 deaths and 12 accidents with injuries.

Broward: 23 accidents, no deaths and 3 accidents with injuries.

NBC6 Investigators got exclusive access to the process for Miami-Dade firefighters to get certified to work on the department’s fireboats, which patrol the county’s waterways. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Andy Alvarez says they have been responding to more dangerous and often deadly boating calls than ever.

NBC6 has covered several recent boating incidents involving serious injuries or deaths.

Miami Mar 21

Illinois couple injured in speedboat crash near PortMiami sues boat companies

Miami Mar 21

Friends of tourist who died after falling into Miami River say he was hesitant to take Miami trip

In February, several people were injured in a crash between a tour bout and a private charter. In March, a man drowned in the Miami River after falling overboard from a charter boat. In April, two men died near Elliot Key after a crash between their motorboat and a large yacht. And in May, 15-year-old Ella Adler was killed in the water near Key Biscayne after a boat struck her.

“This is critical. South Florida, number one, has the most boats in the state. And the state of Florida has the most registered boats in the entire nation,” said Chief Andy Alvarez. “It’s already been a tragic year so far.”

Candidates for the fireboat positions conducted nighttime dives, simulating rescue scenarios such as a baby overboard with little to no visibility in the dark water. They also had to conduct swimming rescue operations in challenging conditions, against the current.

They said these calls are not only dangerous for the public, but first responders as well.

“We all have families, whether or not it’s my family or citizens’, it’s important you want everyone to be safe,” Tendrich said. “Every call is hard, and you know we take them to heart.”

They say part of their work is educating boaters on water safety and keeping a look out for other boaters or hazards. In fact, data from the FWC shows the number one cause of boating accidents in 2023 was boating crashes. Other incidents involve people falling to the water or boats crashing to obstacles.

But finding a way to monitor what your child is doing isn’t always easy. 

It’s a problem Vivian Urbine said she has run into with her 13-year-old son. 

“He is very communicative, but he has his moments that I have to be totally in touch with him to be able to get the words out of him,” Urbine said. 

She said as he has gotten older, she worries more about what he is exposed to online. 

“Social media has positives and negatives,” Urbine said. 

Starting in January, a new law in Florida will ban social media accounts for children under 14 years old and require parental permission for children 14 and 15 years old. 

Florida isn’t the only state taking steps to restrict social media usage. Arkansas, California, Ohio, and Utah have also taken steps to restrict usage. Though in some states, legislation has been met with legal challenges. 

Family therapist Laura Parodi with Azzurra Health Care Center in Doral said laws can only do so much. She encourages parents to take active steps to monitor what their children are doing online. 

“What is it that they are accessing? What platforms they are using?” Parodi said this is information parents should know. 

But some apps help to give parents insight into what apps and online browsing their children are doing. 

Google Link, Kaspersky Safe Kids, and Qustodio all offer free versions of their apps. They give parents tools like app monitoring, app blocking, and the ability to manage how much time your child uses the device. 

The apps Net Nanny and Bark are subscription-based, ranging between $40-$50 a year. They offer tools more specific to social media usage like tracking your child’s activity in real time and can allow you to set alerts when your child goes to specific websites. 

But Parodi said the most powerful tool you can use is meaning conversation.  

“What I usually ask parents is not to stop when your children tend to isolate or stop communicating,” Parodi said. 

It’s a tool Vivian is using with her son. 

“He understands, and I had to catch him in the act. I’m like, I had to, okay, give it a break, on the phone for a while, let’s do something else,” Urbine said.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

A question that could only be answered by the Florida Supreme Court if a complaint ever rises to its level: Did Broward Circuit Judge Stefanie Moon violate judicial canons that forbid, among other things, “campaign activity” in courthouses during court hours?

Judges seeking reelection and their opponents fall under very strict rules about when and how they can campaign, and courthouse facilities are usually off limits.

While judges and candidates cannot directly solicit contributions to their campaigns, they are allowed to recruit a “committee of responsible persons” whose members may seek contributions and manage their expenditures, as well as gather public statements of support for the judge, according to the Florida canons that govern judicial conduct.

So Moon did nothing wrong when she called attorney Michael Jones from her personal cellphone on Friday, Jan. 19, after courthouse hours and left a voicemail saying: “This is Judge Stefanie Moon. I hope you are well. I’m reaching out because I’m putting together my reelection committee and I was wondering if you would agree to serve. If you would kindly return my call, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

But Jones did not return her call.

“I didn’t have that kind of relationship with Judge Moon and I supported (her opponent) Johnny Weekes,” a longtime friend, Jones said in an interview.

So he never responded to Moon – until, a month later, when Moon raised the subject in her courtroom after she dismissed a restraining order case at Jones’ client’s request.

A court reporter’s audio recording of that Feb. 23 proceeding reveals typical exchanges among the judge, lawyers and parties. The legal discussion ends after Judge Moon says, “The matter is hereby dismissed. I wish you health and safety. Have a good day.”

Then her attention turned to Jones.

“Mr. Jones.”

“Yes, judge,” Jones replied.

“I left you a message,” the judge states, just before the audio recording ends.

Jones recounted to NBC6 what he said happened next.

“I said, ‘Yes, judge. You did.’ And she asked me why I didn’t return the court’s call. I hesitated and I said, ‘I’d be happy to explain why I didn’t return the court’s call if we can go sidebar,'” the place in the courtroom where the judge can speak with lawyers without others in the courtroom hearing them. “And she paused as I started to approach. She said, ‘No. Not at this time. That won’t be necessary.'”

NBC6 reached out to Judge Moon for her account of what was said after the recording stopped — offering to follow-up with her after hours when she was outside of the courthouse — but she said she would have no comment and would not address further questions.

Jones said the exchange left him intimidated and “uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable,” so much so he vowed to ask her to recuse herself from any future cases he may have before her.

“Not returning a judge’s call who directly looks for your help puts me in a bad situation,” Jones said.

A question not clearly answered by a review of the judicial canons and advice from the committee that seeks to explain them: was Judge Moon in violation for not refraining from “inappropriate political activity.”

The committee has previously advised judges should “strive to arrange campaign activities to be conducted outside regular courthouse hours.”

While it doesn’t clearly define all “campaign activities,” Jones has his opinion:
“Yeah, I would call that a campaign activity. I don’t know how else you can look at it,” Jones said.

The committee also advised judges not “take a cavalier attitude towards the use of judicial facilities” and Jones noted Moon was in her courtroom when she inquired about his not returning the political call.

But two lawyers who did join Moon’s committee told NBC6 they doubt she would cross the line.

“Judge Moon is one of the most ethical, methodical, thorough judges I’ve ever appeared in front of. Everything in her courtroom is by the book,” said attorney Valerie Small-Williams, adding, “I don’t think her intent was to violate anything.”

Moon, a lawyer for 30 years, has been assigned to family court since she was first elected to a six-year term in 2018 after handling both civil and criminal cases as an assistant US attorney and in private practice.

NBC6 spoke to lawyers or reviewed records showing others have had issues with Moon.

One successfully moved for her disqualification after Moon on her own outside of court called and questioned a mental health counselor for a man accused of stalking before that counselor could testify in her court, according to court filings.

Another lawyer repeatedly appeared before Moon to get an injunction dismissed because Moon had ruled against a client who had to appear without his lawyer present, court records show.

The lawyer said she informed Moon’s office she needed to be in a criminal courtroom at that time for what turned out to be the reading of a multi-defendant murder verdict. But Moon proceeded with the case despite her unavoidable absence, ruling against her client, the case file shows.

Weekes said he decided to run against Moon last fall after she declined to postpone an early Monday morning hearing for a half day or more so he could fly back from a weekend lacrosse tournament with his teenage son.

They skipped the lacrosse trip.

“She wanted me in that courtroom, and I was there,” he told NBC6. “And she wasn’t. She, in fact, didn’t show up until around 11 o’clock.”

He and Jones, who also had a hearing in her courtroom that morning, said they were told by Moon’s assistant that the judge was delayed by her own weekend travels.

Weekes said his concerns about her go beyond just the scheduling issue.

“The candor, the respect that’s in that courtroom just is not there. And I thought Broward County needed something different,” he said.

Weekes also must be careful how he campaigns, as the Supreme Court has ruled judicial candidates cannot “knowingly misrepresent a fact about an opponent.”

“I believe I’m under constraints, but at the same time I’m allowed to tell the truth,” Weekes said. “I’m allowed to say how she’s affected my perception of the bench and things that I’ve seen.”

The non-partisan judicial election is set for primary Election Day, August 20.

“We had at the time of the eviction around 35 employees…most of them from Little Haiti or from Hialeah,” says Jose Molina, one of the owners of Pastry Express.

Workers he says were left unemployed August of 2022 when the City of Miami evicted them after deeming the building an unsafe structure.  

“Typically if a landlord wants to repurpose the property they’ll negotiate with the tenant and compensate them for the value of their lease,” says Attorney Robert Stok, who represents Grupo Sur, the owners of Pastry Express.

In a lawsuit, Grupo Sur alleges their landlord, LRMF abused the 40-year recertification process to evict them, years before their lease was up.

“In my opinion they manufactured the whole situation. It all started with a certification that was upon them to comply with. It had been expired for 10 years. They never did anything about it one day they decided that it was all about getting that done,” says Raul Ortiz de la Renta, the other owner of Pastry Express.

The lawsuit claims LRMF hired the engineering firm Plaza and Associates to inspect the building with the pretext of getting the 40-year recertification but instead of making any necessary repairs, that firm handed the city of Miami a report deeming the building unsafe which prompted the eviction.  

“They used the lack of compliance in their favor to get the tenant out,” says Molina.

In a motion, Grupo Sur cites an internal memo where a vice-president of LRMF’s parent company writes in May of 2022, “How are we looking at Grupo Sur? Sounded like there might be a strategy to get them out.”

Get them out to make way for a neighborhood development project they now tout on their website…project that according to the lawsuit doesn’t “jibe” with the operation of the “industrial factory and bakery business.”

“In the process we found out that they hired an engineering firm…they did it with the intention of tailoring the report they were going to produce to their liking,” says Ortiz de la Renta.

In court records Grupo Sur alleges “LRMF discussed in internal memos it felt confident they could control (William) Plaza and his team to provide them the exact report they needed for Grupo.”

“We saw a clear indication that the landlord felt that they could control the engineering firm,” says Attorney Robert Stok.In an email, the owner of that engineering firm told us “Due to this being a pending legal matter, we hereby decline to comment on your story.”

But in court records, they denied the allegations.

After that firm deemed the building unsafe, Grupo Sur hired another engineering firm who concluded “… the building could have and should have been able to remain occupied while specific repairs were made to comply with the 40-year inspection certification” but they say they were never able to return to the building, not even to retrieve their equipment.

The owners of Grupo Sur say they are not anti-development, they just feel the way they were removed was wrong and it destroyed a family business that took them 19 years to build.

Attorneys for LRMF declined to comment, but in court they denied allegations of breach of contract and conspiring to evict their tenant.

“I entered my PIN number on the website and it showed me $0.04 and I’m like, I got 4 cents?,” she said. “Something can’t be right.”

She says she logged onto her SNAP benefits account and found someone had drained the $300 that had been deposited. The suspicious back-to-back transactions, happening at locations in Philadelphia just minutes apart.

“I mean it’s frustrating because my income, I don’t have none right now,” she said. “My unemployment just stopped. I have to buy food for my daughter.”

And Tenise isn’t alone. Across the country, more than 124,000 households have lost over $61 million in stolen benefits since last year.  Criminals often use hidden skimming devices to lift the card data. Then, they use the information to create fake payment cards and steal the money from the victims’ accounts.

The Florida Department of Children and Families says the state has a plan in place to address this type of SNAP benefit fraud. Under the plan, potential fraud victims have to submit a claim. The department then has 10 business days from the time they receive the form to review it and if the claim is approved, the department will replace the benefits by the 10^th business day.

“They need to give us a voucher,” Tenise said. “They need to give us something.”

Tenise said she submitted her claim and then reached out to NBC6 Responds for help. After our team contacted the department, she said someone did call her to say they were looking into her case. She said her replacement funds did not appear in her account until about two weeks after the account was drained.

“I was like, I’m glad it’s there,” she said.

Tenise was relieved but said more should be done to help those who may find themselves in a similar situation.

“It’s too long,” she said. “They know it’s a crisis throughout South Florida, they need to move fast.”

If your SNAP benefits were stolen, you can submit a claim directly on the department’s website by clicking here:  https://www.myflfamilies.com/reportstolensnap#no-back

You can also report the theft by calling the EBT customer service line at 1-888-356-3281.

Fernando Porras, assistant special agent in charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’, Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) says the practice of skipping your HIV meds to sell them is dangerous.  “Their viral levels could increase, and they could potentially infect a partner or the population…And for patients that consume medications that were stored under perhaps not the best of conditions, it may affect the quality of the medication,” says Porras.

HHS OIG says drug diversion is just one of the ways criminals steal billions of dollars from Medicare each year. “Unfortunately South Florida is the epicenter of Medicare fraud,” states Porras.

Drug Diversion Works like this:  A patient picks up a prescription valued at thousands of dollars and sells it to an aggregator for a fraction of the price. The buyer, known as an aggregator, removes the label and sells it to a wholesaler who then sells it back to a pharmacy at a discount. “A pharmacy could easily bill the Medicare program two and three million dollars doing this scheme,” Porras says.

The family from the video was found guilty and served 2-to-3-year prison sentences for Defrauding the United States and Engaging in the Unlicensed Distribution of Prescription Drugs.

In another case, Lázaro Hernández pleaded guilty to running an elaborate scheme to distribute more than $230 million dollars’ worth of adulterated and misbranded prescription drugs and sentenced to 15 years behind bars. “Weoften hear about providers, owners of clinics or medical facilities being arrested or indicted. And unfortunately, we’ve arrested a lot of doctors as well…but it’s not uncommon for us to arrest beneficiaries as well for being on the take,” says Porras.

HHS OIG stresses it’s important to be on the lookout for these types of schemes.  The fraud usually happens when someone bills Medicare for unnecessary equipment, treatments, or prescription drugs.  It can also happen when someone offers to pay a Medicare beneficiary to enroll in a program or treatment they don’t need or calls them claiming they are from Medicare and want to send them a free genetic test.

To combat Medicare fraud, HHS OIG asks beneficiaries to be thorough. “We ask them to review their explanation of benefits, although it says it’s not a bill, it potentially could indicate whether there’s fraudulent activity in their account,” Porras explains. He says if you see fraudulent activity, you should report it to Medicare immediately and if you’re having a hard time reading that document, you can ask it be sent in your language or in bigger font. 

“My bill usually is from $58 to $90 something dollars every month of water. And what I spend in the water, a thousand something dollars,” Gonzalez said.  

In April, her water bill skyrocketed with charges over a thousand dollars. 

“Well, it hurts me because I had to pay so much money, and it’s not right. It’s not right that they should charge me for the water that I spend,” Gonzalez said. 

She said last April, she had another higher-than-normal bill. 

A yearly look at Gonzalez’s usage history showed low consumption all year long, except for April of the last two years. 

“And I complain, and I complain about the meters, and the meter is nothing wrong, nothing wrong with the meter. We’re taking your meter, and we’re going to check it, and nothing wrong with your meter,” Gonzalez said she was told. 

But she isn’t the only one describing higher-than-normal charges in the area. NBC6 Responds heard from two other people in the Miami Springs area who say their bills have also skyrocketed from one month to the next. The culprit, they think, is estimated meter readings. 

If the water department does not manually read your meter, they are allowed to estimate your usage, and they bill you that amount. 

According to a statement from the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, estimated readings were a part of the problem. 

In a statement, a spokesperson told us the following, 

“Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD) regularly replaces meters as part of a scheduled standard operating procedure. A limited number of new automated meters installed in the Miami Springs area contained serial numbers that did not sync with the department’s billing system. The meters provided to the department by the vendor had a nine-digit serial number and department’s billing system utilizes an eight-digit serial number. This issue prevented the information from the meters to be transmitted to the department’s billing system. Without a transmitted reading, the department’s billing system automatically calculates an estimated bill based on historical consumption for the customer’s account.” 

“Once department staff realized this disconnect in the system, it was corrected. Staff is now reevaluating the bills for customers who received these new meters and received estimated bills. As an added safeguard, department staff will be notified when an account has two consecutive estimated bills to take further action – including verifying that their meter serial number is synched correctly in both systems.

WASD customers can always contact the department’s customer service section at 305-665-7477 if they have questions about their bill.” 

For Gonzalez, she said she has been credited back $1,000 to her account but she wants her meter manually read to safeguard from any higher than normal charges. 

“But this has been going on already for a long time, and I don’t want them to come and estimate my bill,” Gonzalez said. 

According to the Miami-Dade County website, you can check to see if your meter was misread by copying down the numbers on your meter and comparing them to the numbers on your utility bill under the current reading. The numbers on the meter should be equal to or higher than what you see on your bill. If they aren’t you can contact the water department and request a corrected bill.

But have you thought about what’s being collected by your car?

A group of researchers at the Mozilla Foundation recently poured through the data collection policies of the top 25 most popular car brands in the world. They found 84% of automakers are sharing your personal data.

According to the privacy policies shared on the automaker’s websites, Nissan said it may collect data about your psychological trends, behavior, intelligence, immigration status and religious or philosophical beliefs to share with third parties for advertising and marketing purposes.

The privacy policy states Nissan collects this information directly from you and other data provider companies, as well as your interactions with its platforms and dealerships.

Kia’s privacy policy states it may collect information about your sex life and sexual orientation.

According to Kia, “processing of personal information varies based upon our relationship and interactions with you and depends on what services you have used,” and “this information may be shared or sold to third parties” such as “analytics partners, advertising networks and social networks.”

According to Tesla’s privacy policy, the company may be recording video from the vehicle’s cabin to “…further develop future safety features” if the driver enables data sharing.

“Privacy Not Included”

“All the cars that are coming off the lots today come packed with sensors, cameras on the inside, cameras on the outside, the apps you use, the connected services you use, it’s all collecting data on you,” said Jen Caltrider, Program Director of Privacy Not Included at the Mozilla Foundation. She explained how vehicles gather all of this information about you.

“Sometimes if you download an app, you know, you’ll get the ‘click here’ to agree to our privacy policy and terms and conditions when you download and install it. And most people just click that button and never look at anything,” Caltrider said.

According to the Mozilla Foundation, data may be connected through your car’s connected services platform when you plug in your mobile phone.

Caltrider said some of the data collection may be helpful to consumers.

“If the car has an onboard facing camera, it can tell if you’re looking sleepy. So there are some safety features that the data the cars can collect can be useful,” she said.

Federal Oversight of Consumer Data Collection

In response to the Mozilla Foundation’s report, U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how and why cars are collecting so much of our personal data. The FTC would not comment on whether they are investigating the issue.

NBC 5 Responds reached out to the three automakers mentioned in our story for more information about why they collect data and how they’re using it.

Nissan told us in part: “When we do collect or share personal data, we comply with all applicable laws and provide the utmost transparency to allow our consumers to make informed decisions about their data. We have clear methods for consumers to opt out of collection, use and sharing of personal data.”

We didn’t hear back from Kia, but in response to Sen. Markey’s inquiry, the company said in part it “takes the privacy of its consumers and security of their data seriously” and “… is constantly looking for ways to improve its own privacy and security practices.”

Kia also expressed support for a federal privacy law to ensure consumer privacy is protected.

Tesla told Sen. Markey, in part “Our Privacy Notice is designed to provide transparency into our data practices in a format that is easy to read and navigate. The notice includes sections describing Tesla’s approach regarding how we collect, use, share, and safeguard customer information in order to offer the most seamless vehicle and energy experience imaginable.”

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

The raid left 34-year-old Jaime Robles dead after a shooting witnessed by his two young sons.

Less than 24 hours earlier, a Miami-Dade Police detective, Cesar Echaverry, had been shot during a confrontation with an armed robbery suspect, Jeremy Horton. Both men died from their injuries.

Police believed Robles and Horton were involved in an armed robbery in Broward County earlier that day. The car Horton was driving was traced back to Robles, and the Extended Stay America hotel on Fairway Drive in Miami Springs.

Miami-Dade Police Special Response Team was called to the hotel to execute a search warrant in room 239, where Robles was staying with his girlfriend, her teenage son and his two and three-year old sons.

Body camera video shows the perspective of Officer Anthony Jimenez as the team burst into the room. Officers are seen trying to open the door with a room key before the security latch stops the door from opening, according to records from the investigation. They then use a hammer to break in, the video shows.

“Search warrant! Search warrant! Hands up! Hands up!,” officers are heard shouting once they are entering the hotel room, along with flash bangs detonating.

As officers enter, Robles is in the bathroom and can be seen through the viewing window of Officer Jimenez’ shield. He appears to be just out of the shower, naked with both hands in the air. At points in the video Jimenez’ shield obstructs the view as he shoots Robles several times.

“Subject is down. Subject is down. Right here in the bathroom,” Jimenez is heard saying. Robles’ sons were in the room during the shooting just feet from where their father was shot. They can be heard screaming in the background.

At that point, Officer Jimenez is heard shouting commands at Robles again, “Hands! Let me see your hands,” he yells, before firing several more times at Robles who is now on the floor. At the time, one of Robles’ children is seen in the reflection of Jimenez’ shield – as another officer carries him out of the room.

“He moved his f— hands man,” Jimenez can be heard saying. “Not sure if he had something in his hands.”

On the bathroom vanity, was an AK-47 style rifle, which a witness told investigators was left there by Horton.

Records from the investigation show Officer Jimenez fired sixteen times, hitting Robles all over his body, including his head, neck, and chest.

Officer Anthony Jimenez remains on duty. Requests for an interview with Jimenez and the Miami-Dade Police Department were declined. A spokesperson for the department cited an ongoing internal investigation into the incident.

NO CHARGES AGAINST THE OFFICER

In December of 2023, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office declined to charge Officer Jimenez for his role in the shooting.

In a memo, prosecutors wrote: “There is insufficient evidence to make a clear determination that the shooting was legally justified. Likewise, because of this lack of evidence, there is also insufficient information to file any criminal charges against Officer Jimenez that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Jimenez declined to provide a statement to investigators after the shooting, on the advice of his attorney, according to the memo. Prosecutors noted without a statement from Jimenez detailing “…What was in his mind before the shooting,” they could not speculate, “…On his knowledge or intent in firing his weapon.”

“He has his hands in the air. He’s just out of the shower and you shoot him anyway,” said Hilton Napoleon II, the lawyer representing the boys, who also voiced concerns about the dangers the raid posted to the public.

Records from the FDLE investigation show other hotel guests reported concerns, and some called 911 after several bullets came through walls into their bathroom.

“You have to be able to de-escalate it,” Napoleon said.

MOTHER REACTS

The boys’ mother, Gretchen Santiago, recently watched for the first time, video of what her sons witnessed that day.

“It’s sad to know these kids had to go through that,” she said.

She told NBC6 Investigators both boys have been traumatized by the experience.

“They are not okay,” she said, “Especially the oldest one…He remembers more.”

She expressed concerns about how police managed the situation, knowing there were small children inside at the time.

“It’s not okay,” she said, “They are innocent, defenseless children.”

“What if one of those children would have got shot and killed?” asked Napoleon, who said the family is currently weighing their legal options.

According to recorded interviews, officers were aware the children were inside the room as well as the gun.

“We were told that he was in a hotel room with two small kids and that he had an AK-47 and possibly other weapons,” one officer told an FDLE investigator after the shooting.

Officers knew those details before entering the room, because they had detained and questioned Robles’ girlfriend and her teenage son when they spotted them leaving the room.

The girlfriend told investigators in recorded statements that Horton, who she said they had met a week prior, had been staying in the hotel with them for several days. She told Robles lent him the car the day before and Horton never returned.

The girlfriend’s son told investigators Horton had brought the rifle into the hotel room, something which concerned Robles because of the presence of his children.

He told an FDLE investigator Robles said, “Listen, I have kids here. Please get that s— (rifle) out of my house.”

THE ARMED ROBBERY

According to investigation reports, the chain of events began with an armed robbery a day before, the afternoon of August 15^th.

A clerk at the 911 Food Store in Dania Beach reported two masked gunmen entered the store and demanded money before taking off in a white Hyundai.

The clerk provided a photo of the car’s tag to BSO detectives who traced the vehicle to the Extended Stay America hotel in Miami Springs.

Later that evening, Miami-Dade Police located the vehicle at the hotel and tried to stop the car at NW 62 Street and NW 17 Avenue. Officers say 32-year-old Jeremy Horton was behind the wheel, led officers on a chase before taking off on foot. The confrontation ended with an exchange of gunfire led to the deaths of both Detective Cesar Echaverry and Jeremy Horton.

Police suspected both Horton and Robles had been involved in the armed robbery in Broward.

On September 14, a month after Robles was shot and killed in his hotel room, BSO investigators obtained cellphone records, which showed Robles’ phone was in the area of the 911 Food Store at the time and date of the armed robbery, according to records provided by the department.

‘HE WAS NOT THERE’

In recorded interviews with FDLE investigators, some of the officers involved in the raid said they were told the man in the room was involved in the shooting of their colleague a day before.

When asked about the search warrant, Officer Jose Hernandez told investigators it was “involving a subject that was involved in yesterday’s evening’s police involved shooting.”

“He was not there,” Napoleon said. “So, you can’t say that the man was involved in a crime where he wasn’t even present.”

THE VIDEO VS THE RECORDS

The day after the hotel shooting, Miami-Dade Police sent a press release. This is, in part, how they described what happened inside room 239. “According to investigators, once officers made entry inside a hotel room, a confrontation ensued with a subject who was armed with an AK-47 style rifle. The armed subject was subsequently shot and pronounced deceased on scene by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.”

The video does not show Robles holding the AK-47 style rifle at any point.  

The FDLE investigation states officers are heard on the recordings announcing “Police! Search warrant!” prior to making entry to the hotel room. But that’s not what video from the incident shows, according to several people who reviewed it.

“They started to say what sounds like what sounds like room service, and before they even finish service, apparently the security latch was engaged and then they just busted down the door,” according to Michael Feiler, a board-certified civil trial lawyer who is not involved with this case.

“Under the statute, you’re supposed to announce your presence and why you’re there,” he explained, “Search warrant.”

But video shows, officers in this case did not say that until after they break in the door and step into the room.

“This is the special response team they train to do this every day,” said Michael D’Angelo, a retired police captain who served 25 years with South Miami Police. He said officers have discretion when it comes to search warrants.

“If doing so and following the normal procedures of a search warrant execution can present a clear enhanced danger to the officers that are serving the warrant,” he added.

He said the rifle’s location on the bathroom counter is critical to understand the use of deadly force in this case.

“We’re talking about something that is literally steps or seconds away from being in the possession of an assailant and used against law enforcement.”

Feiler understands prosecutors’ decision there was not enough evidence for criminal charges, but says the shooting leaves him with concerns, “I think the scenario here is ambiguous enough to create some questions,” he said, “You got a guy with no clothes on standing with his hands up. The only way to justify shooting him is if he makes a move for a weapon.”

D’Angelo sees it differently, “It looks like compliance. But there’s a lot that we can’t see because of the video being blocked by the shield and how fast this is moving.”

Feiler also raised concerns about Officer Jimenez shooting Robles several more times once injured on the bathroom floor.

“If somebody is down and injured, if there is no threat to officers, you don’t continue to use deadly force,” he said.

Both men noted discrepancies in the FDLE investigative report and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office close-out memo.

The FDLE specifically mentioned seeing Robles’ hands in the air. The State Attorney’s Office memo did not, just saying the view was “obstructed by his shield which only has a narrow viewing slit.”

“It should be a concern to anyone why that piece, that pivotal piece of information is not highlighted in one report and is clearly mentioned in the other,” D’Angelo said.

Feiler agrees, “whether inadvertent or not, that is a concern.”

THE OFFICER

Jimenez has been involved in two other fatal shootings during police operations since 2018. In both of those cases, prosecutors said the men were armed. In each of those cases, Jimenez also declined to speak with investigators and prosecutors cited a lack of evidence to either determine the shootings were legally justified, or to file criminal charges. Like any regular citizen, officers have the right to not provide a statement.  

Officer Jimenez’ attorney declined a request for comment.

That longtime senior prosecutor – Michael Von Zamft – resigned within hours of the judge handing down her order last week and has not responded to email and a voicemail seeking his comment.

While Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson said she did not believe Von Zamft was relaying a desire to “eliminate” the witness when he told the jailed convicted murderer he might “find a way to make her unavailable,” “reasonable minds may reach a different conclusion based on the totality of the circumstances,” she wrote in her order.

Those circumstances include the state manipulating witnesses, improperly withholding relevant records from the defense, and trying to set up a jailhouse courtyard meeting between two witnesses and a third man with a history of helping prosecutors make cases against other inmates.

The developments come in the case of Corey Smith, sentenced to death for two of four murders he was convicted of committing or arranging in the 1990s as, prosecutors argued, the leader of the John Does, a violent drug gang based in Liberty City. Because the jury was not unanimous for death in 2005, he is being resentenced in accordance with more recent court decisions.

But Judge Wolfson is also considering a request to throw out his convictions and sentences, which would require the state to retry him more than 25 years after his arrest or drop the case entirely. In her disqualification order, she refers to evidence that she says would be relevant to that motion, as well.

Both the jailhouse meeting and the prospect of making a witness “unavailable” were discussed in the same August 2022 jail call, what the judge dubbed the “smoking gun” — a copy of which was obtained by the NBC6 Investigators.

Von Zamft took the call from Latravis Gallashaw, a partner of Smith in the John Does, who was also convicted of murder and drug trafficking in the case and has been seeking a reduction in his 70-year federal prison sentence based on his cooperation with prosecutors.

The newly uncooperative witness, Tricia Geter, was once Smith’s girlfriend, but she turned against him and was a key witness in the trial that resulted in his death sentences.

But when she started backing off that testimony, she testified last month, Von Zamft told her, “if she was dead, he would simply read her prior testimony into the record,” the judge recounted in her order.

Here is the exchange the judge cited:

Von Zamft: She gave full and complete testimony in the last trial.
Gallashaw: Yeah.
Von Zamft: If I call her and she refuses, then I will find a way to make her unavailable, and then I can read her whole testimony.
Gallashaw: You would want to do that?
Von Zamft: No. I don’t want to do it. I’d rather she testified and did a good job. But can I count on it? No.

The judge said the smoking gun call “totally and completely corroborates” Geter’s testimony.

“She had developed a fear or concern that Michael Von Zamft would prefer her to be dead, that his case and his ability to prosecute Corey Smith would be improved if she were out of the picture,” said Craig Whisenhunt, one of the defense attorneys who unearthed the new evidence that led to the disqualifications.

The order disqualifying Von Zamft, his co-counsel and a third prosecutor who resigned before he could be disqualified has shaken the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office and put Smith’s death penalty conviction in jeopardy.

Von Zamft obtained the state indictment against the John Does in 2000 and returning him to death row after resentencing was to be the cap of his 40-year legal career.

“He did in fact end his career with Corey Smith, but just not in the way he envisioned,” said Whisenhunt. He said the “misconduct included a heavy reliance on snitches and particularly where these snitches were either fed information or allowed to coordinate with other witnesses in order to establish their testimony.”

He is now calling for a criminal investigation of the matter, but the state attorney’s office has not responded to NBC6’s inquiry on whether it will ask the governor for an executive order assigning such an investigation to another state attorney.

In a press release noting the judge did not grant the defense request to disqualify her entire office, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle wrote, “I will ask my top litigators to examine every aspect of this case and determine the best path forward. The 24-year-old case is massive, and it will take my team some time to ensure that we are proceeding in accordance with the law and with justice. Be assured that we will get the job done.”

Geter wasn’t the only witness Von Zamft was concerned about. He also discussed with Gallashaw another former John Does colleague, Demetrius Jones.

Judge Wolfson cited this passage from their phone call in her order:

Gallashaw: And you don’t know about rehabilitating Jones, huh?
Von Zamft: Which one?
Gallashaw: Jones. Meat Head.
Von Zamft: Yeah. His problem is – well, Jones, I’ve told you. His contradictory statements. I’ve asked to allow you, Jones and (a third inmate Von Zamft has used in other cases) to go to the, you know, courtyard together. I’ve asked them to do that, but Corrections has not agreed.

Just trying to set up that meeting behind bars “reeks of the appearance of impropriety,” Judge Wolfson found, adding at one point in her order the state’s withholding of critical records from the defense was “at best … incompetence.”

Whisenhunt said it goes beyond mere incompetence.

“Manipulating testimony to pursue something that was untrue and to encourage someone to lie or mislead the court is not only a grievable offense as an attorney and reprehensible behavior, it is also in and of itself criminal conduct,” Whisenhunt said, citing laws against assisting someone in committing perjury.

In May 2022, Von Zamft himself accused Smith’s defense of that crime, called subornation of perjury, and launched a criminal investigation that forced two of Smith’s investigators off the case to avoid a potential conflict of interest as Von Zamft investigated them.

No charges ever resulted, but the Smith team argued losing the investigators prejudiced them due to what they called Von Zamft’s unfounded inquiry.

Now it is Von Zamft facing a similar accusation, though there is no indication any law enforcement is investigating him.

Attempts to reach the two other prosecutors involved have been unsuccessful.

As for Smith — who even if freed on the state convictions still faces 60 years in federal prison for drug trafficking — he “may not have been an angel,” said Whisenhunt, “but he wasn’t who they painted him to be and he was sentenced to die for things he didn’t have a hand in by this same state attorney and this same state attorney’s office.”

She chose to have a surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital to remove her fallopian tubes to prevent future pregnancies.

“My baby was two months old,” Rodriguez told the NBC6 Investigators. “The same day I went into surgery, he turned two months.”

It was supposed to be a simple outpatient procedure. Rodriguez says her doctor told her it would last up to 30 minutes with minimal risk of complications.

“It will be an in-and-out thing,” she said she was told. “You’ll be home the same night. Back with the baby.”

Instead, she says, she almost lost her life and ended up hospitalized for months. And the active life she enjoyed as a busy working mom was changed forever.  

“Unfortunately, because of defective equipment that was supplied to the hospital, this procedure turned into a disaster and a nightmare for this poor family,” said Andrew Yaffa, the attorney representing Rodriguez.

In a lawsuit, Yaffa says the problems began with a piece of equipment called a trocar, which is described as a pen-shaped instrument used in minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. In Rodriguez’s case, it was used to access her abdomen and guide doctors through the procedure.

“Well, it broke and it fragmented, and pieces were lost inside of her,” Yaffa explained.

Then, he says, it happened again.  

“And when they went to try and do the procedure with a second trocar, the second trocar, manufactured by the same company and the same lot, also broke. So Maria now had two sets of fragments floating within her body,” he said.

Yaffa says the 30-minute procedure turned into 10 hours. During that time, doctors opened Rodriguez’s wounds to look for the plastic pieces inside her belly.

The suit filed against the trocar’s manufacturer, Applied Medical Resources Corporation, and Jackson Health System, among others, claims doctors used X-ray, ultrasound and CT scans but were unable to find the plastic pieces. It goes on to say at least one surgeon advised doctors to “fully inspect Ms. Rodriguez’s bowel” to make sure it wasn’t punctured in the process, before closing her up. But “this was never done.”

“The feces, if you will, which is never supposed to be outside of the intestines, were leaked into the belly, and she became systemically infected. And unfortunately, it became a fight for her life at that point,” Yaffa said.

The lawsuit claims Rodriguez was in critical condition and endured surgery after surgery due to the infection and other complications, including a stroke, psychological disturbances, blood clots, blurred vision, and ultimately the forced amputation of several fingers on her right hand.

“And as a woman, when you look down, you’re reminded every day,” Rodriguez said. “My dominant hand is the right one, losing three digits. I can’t open anything. I can’t feed my kids right.”

Rodriguez says the surgeries left her so fragile, she is unable to do the simplest tasks, like driving or even picking up her children.

“It’s torture when you are limited in carrying your kid,” she said. “Because you can’t. Because you could get hurt.”

“She’s always been a really strong woman and now she’s very weak,” her husband Rolando Oliva said. “Mentally, she’s beat up and it’s tough.”

The couple believes it could all have been prevented.

“No question. This company knew that their products were breaking,” Yaffa said.

Since 2015, NBC6 Investigators found over a dozen reports to the FDA of reports of problems involving the device that broke inside Rodriguez. In each of those cases, it either cracked, bent or broke.   

“These doctors are not being told that these plastic trocars are prone to breaking,” Yaffa said.

We reached out to the manufacturer Applied Medical. In a statement, they wrote: “Applied Medical is sympathetic to the events alleged by Mrs. Rodriguez’s attorneys in her Complaint. As a healthcare company, we take Mrs. Rodriguez’s claims and any reports of adverse patient outcomes seriously. Applied Medical produces millions of trocars every year and follows stringent manufacturing practices. We have always been known for high-quality devices and are thoroughly investigating this matter.”

When asked about the lawsuit, a representative for Jackson Health System told NBC6 they do not comment on pending litigation.

“It’s unfair, it’s wrong,” Oliva said. “Especially, I would never think that that will happen here in this country.”

Rodriguez just wishes she had known the risks beforehand.

“When we go in, you know, and we put our lives in people’s hands, we expect the truth, you know, honesty,” she said.

Rodriguez says the plastic pieces from the broken devices have still not been found or removed from her body.

A recorded phone call provided to NBC6 by federal investigators shows how criminals are targeting seniors from our own backyard. 

In the recording, which was used as evidence in a criminal case, an 84-year-old man receives a phone call from someone who identifies herself as working with “lab services.” She asked if he received a FedEx package that was previously sent to him.

“I didn’t order it, but I got it,” the man responds. 

Investigators of the U.S. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) say the call was actually a telemarketer, trying to convince the man to take a genetic test for heart issues. 

“I’m a genetics advocate here,” she continues. “My job is just to help walk you through taking that test.” 

The man responds, “No, it’s another CMS scam is what it is, so they can make money. And that’s why Medicare is in such a damn bad shape as it is!” 

As the man suspects, that call has nothing to do with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS as he calls it. 

Investigators say it came from a call center tucked away inside an office building in Boca Raton. 

“So, the way this center worked was they would contact beneficiaries or Medicare enrollees and convince them to get a genetic test for cardiac or a cancer genetic test all from through the call center here,” explained Stephen Mahmood, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Miami office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. 

In the phone call, the Medicare recipient is heard arguing against taking the genetic test until a man, who describes himself as a supervisor, gets on the phone and tries to convince him why he needs it. 

“To identify if you are in a high-risk category for certain illnesses such as … heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease,” the caller can be heard saying.

The man replies, “Well at 84 years old, I’m probably a candidate for all of those, wouldn’t you say?” 

Mahmood drove us along a stretch of U.S. 1 in Boca Raton and said most of the call centers involved in this sort of telemarketing fraud are located here in South Florida. 

“They’re all over the place,” he said. 

He says the scheme starts when telemarketing companies contact Medicare recipients—using illegally obtained personal data. 

“They may say ‘I’m with Medicare. You have this benefit, or you need to take advantage of this benefit,’” he added.  

Then they get doctors or other providers to sign off on the unnecessary genetic testing,  usually for cancer or heart conditions. A shell lab then bills Medicare for the worthless test, and everyone involved will get a cut.  

“The money kind of flows down. The lab owner profits from it,” Mahmood said. “So the lab owner submits a claim to Medicare. One genetic testing claim, I’ve seen them as high as $24,000 for one claim.

He describes South Florida as ground zero for this type of healthcare fraud, which targets people all over the country. The Office of Inspector General works with state and federal partners like the FBI, Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to crack down on these crimes. 

“We have a health care fraud strike force…Miami is the largest in the country,” he said. 

The cost of genetic testing fraud is staggering.  

“From 2018 to present, according to the data, genetic testing fraud is responsible for about $7 billion in fraud,” according to Mahmood. 

Despite that, in 2022 only about 2 cents of every $100 spent by Health and Human Services went to oversight and enforcement — prompting the agency to ask for additional funding this year. 

“We have arrested people. But, you know, the fraud hasn’t stopped. We have limited resources. We do the best we can”, Mahmood said. 

Several people were charged in connection with the Boca Raton call center, including brothers Daniel and Louis “Gino” Carver who pleaded guilty last year for submitting over $67 million dollars in false claims for genetic testing and durable medical equipment patients didn’t need.  A third man, Jose Goyos was convicted for tricking physicians into signing off on the fraudulent orders. 

“It took up, you know, a major part of one of the floors in this large building,” Mahmood said of the call center, “But I would say at least 100 employees just, you know, you see heads just at cubicles and you just hear the phones. And they’re constantly calling Medicare enrollees, convincing them to get the tests.”

They’re so convincing, even that skeptical 84-year-old man who fought telemarketers the whole call, eventually agreed to the test. 

“It really is a win-win,” the caller claimed, “There’s no reason you should be scared or object to a test that your doctor approves.” 

“Yeah, well. Okay,” responded the man. “If I can find it, I’ll do it.” 

“CMS is committed to preventing fraud and protecting people with Medicare from falling victim to fraud. We can take swift actions to prevent illegitimate payments from going to bad actors when we have credible allegations of fraud,” said a CMS spokesperson. “CMS does not confirm or discuss the existence of any ongoing investigation to ensure we do not compromise the integrity of the investigative process. However, that does not mean actions are not taken behind the scenes.”

It started when she had an accident in October 2022.

“My insurance took forever to approve the claim,” Ayala said. “Initially, it was like $7,000 and they say it’s going to be $2,000. So at the end of the November, I think they decided to approve.”

Turns out, waiting on her insurance would not be her only delay. 

Ayala told NBC6 the shop ordered the parts needed to make the repairs back in December of 2022.

“They said it’s going to arrive in January and six months later nothing arrived,” Ayala said.

In an email to NBC6, the owner of Atlantic Coast Collision explained the reason for the delay.

“Unfortunately, due to supply chain issues there were multiple parts unavailable and on backorder, some being structural parts that would cause us to not be able to begin repairs until the manufacturer provided us with those necessary parts…this is an industry wide problem that we have been having since COVID,” the email said.

Ayala said “by July or June a friend told me, why don’t you contact NBC?”

NBC6 Responds then start communicating with the shop owner who said he understood Ayala’s concern after she said she was paying for a tag, insurance and a car without having the actual vehicle.

The shop owner told NBC6, “We understand the customer’s frustration being that we see other customers…being without their vehicle for an absorbent amount of time due to the lack of availability of parts that our industry has been fighting through due to the supply chain issues…”

Ayala said once our team got involved “all of a sudden, everything started working out. It was amazing.”

Just over a year later, Ayala got her car back. 

Given the shortage, experts say owners can consider buying used parts, which are usually cheaper. 

However it is important to ensure that the parts are in good condition and work property in the vehicle.

“To peas, chickpeas, lentils, as well as dairy,” Sherry said.

When it came time to start kindergarten, Sherry enrolled him in the before and after school program at his school.

“Thinking that would be the safest option for him because the EpiPens are already there and he’s at school,” she said.

But on the first day of school, Sherry realized that wouldn’t be the case when she asked about the program’s protocols for dealing with children who carry epinephrine.

“They’re like, ‘no, we don’t do EpiPens here’,” Sherry said she was told by the after care provider. “She’s like, ‘we don’t have the training on that’ and I was like well, what are you going to do if he goes into anaphylaxis?”

Sherry said she was told the staff would call 911.

“I was like, he could be dead by the time 911 comes,” Sherry said she told them.

Sherry found another after care provider for her son, but the experience got her thinking.

“Training should be the standard, not the exception,” she said.

When she did some digging, what she found concerned her.

“Nobody has to be trained on EpiPen administration per any statutes or guidelines and a lot of people think that the schools all have a school nurse,” she said. “Florida does not require a school to have a nurse.”

She took those findings to State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).

“A lot of our educators never have to deal with such a situation until it happens,” Eskamani said.

Eskamani co-introduced HB 65. The bill highlights include requiring school districts statewide to adopt an anaphylaxis policy and providing requirements for the policy, which should include training requirements for school personnel on preventing and responding to an allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis.

The requirements must include training in the use of an epinephrine autoinjector not just for employees, but for a percentage of the staff providing before and after school care.  To read the bill text, click here: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/65/BillText/Filed/PDF

“It’s a bare minimum and it’s not being done,” Eskamani said. “We need to hear from more parents to help get it to move through the process to the finish line.”

“I never knew how much politics played into every aspect of our life, but it definitely does,” Sherry said.

Sherry and her son have visited Tallahassee to meet with state legislators, hoping to get them to understand the importance of this bill.

“When I say, children have died from anaphylaxis at school, they’re like, in Florida?” Sherry recalls from her conversations with some lawmakers. “I’m like not yet, and they’re like not interested yet. They’re waiting for it to happen in Florida before they’re going to do something about it.”

Broward County Public Schools told NBC6 they were aware of the bill and were monitoring its progress. A spokesperson also said the district offers training to staff that “…includes how to recognize anaphylaxis symptoms and emergency medication administration…” if the school principal asks for it. 

The state health department, the state board of education and Miami-Dade County Public Schools did not respond to our request for information. But MDCPS told NBC6 last year they offered education and training to both students and employees, which includes how to administer epinephrine.

Police told NBC6 those officers are home recovering, but authorities say these cases are challenging to investigate and they are seeing them more than ever before.

The latest incident involved a homeowner who called police to report someone living illegally in his property on Southwest 162nd Avenue near 216th Street. Police say the suspected squatter confronted responding officers with a shotgun, shooting two of them before he was killed in the shootout.

Records from Miami-Dade Police show there have been 17 calls involving squatters over the past three years in that area alone, including this incident.

“Anything they do is dangerous for our law enforcement people. They could just be going to something they consider so simple and it turns into a disaster,” said Ron Cacciatore, Director of Broward County’s Crimes Against Property Unit. He says complaints of squatters and property theft through fraud are at levels he’s never seen. 

“It’s out of control. It’s the only way I can describe it,” he said. “Every day we’re getting four or five people calling.”

In some of those cases, Cacciatore says the alleged squatters have put both law enforcement and the public in danger.

“It was very, very upsetting,” said one Fort Lauderdale homeowner who asked not to be identified. He says he had a run-in with a suspected squatter back in 2022.

“He was walking around the neighborhood. He was caught on video,” Cacciatore said, referring to the case.

Police say surveillance video shows the man — moments before he got inside his home in the middle of the night. 

“I was asleep. My wife screamed, ‘There’s someone in here,’ and several screams to the point where she lost her voice for three days,” the homeowner said.

He credits his dog, a German shepherd named Mojo, for barking and alerting his wife to what was happening. 

The man, who police later identified as Kevin Bosley, took off and was eventually arrested on burglary charges. He’s pleaded not guilty. According to authorities, he had been part of a group squatting inside a neighbor’s home who had passed away.

“And it took another six to nine months even after we knew he was living in that squatting home to get the squatters out of this house,” according to the homeowner.

In September, NBC6 told you about another case in which a man facing charges in connection with property theft, barricaded himself inside a Lauderhill home — prompting an hours-long SWAT standoff before officers took him into custody. 

“But the thing that concerns me about the squatters,” Cacciatore said. “They broke in a house, they stole a house, or they don’t belong there. They know from the get-go that law enforcement is coming up to the house and they may not have anything to lose.”

Cacciatore says exact numbers of squatting calls are not something the office tracks — but property theft, especially through deed fraud, is an issue the Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar has made a top priority. His team of investigators is made up of BSO partners and retired law enforcement to look into these complaints. 

“South Florida’s real estate is exceptionally expensive,” Kiar told NBC6. “When somebody is stealing one home, maybe stealing a $500,000 home, maybe $1 million home, a $300,000 home, they’re stealing a lot. And what people do when they do this, they usually just don’t steal one home.”

The crimes are complex – in many cases, suspects are able to transfer ownership of the property by filing fraudulent paperwork.

Cacciatore says, when it comes to squatters, “They know, listen, I don’t own this house. I stole it. And they got to decide what they want to do.”

Bosley is facing two counts of burglary in connection to the homeowner’s property and his neighbor’s. His attorney told us she couldn’t comment on the allegations against his client because the case is pending. 

The Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office urges homeowners to sign up for their free Owner Alert program, which protects a property from scams or fraud by notifying the homeowner if a document is received by the BCPA transferring ownership of the property.

“It’s gone up,” Muriel said when asked how she’s seen her premiums change in recent years.

“I didn’t know Florida was so expensive for car insurance,” another woman told NBC6 after recently moving to South Florida from the Northeast. “I thought New York, New Jersey drivers are crazy, that’s where it’s going to be expensive, but no.”

Both women say they had no recent accidents or tickets, yet they are still dealing with high premiums.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, as of January 2024, the average annual full coverage premium in Florida was $3,941 – 55% higher than the national average of $2,542 and over $750 dollars more than the cost of insurance in January of 2023.  The Institute also said Florida has the highest-priced average full coverage car insurance premium in the country.

“That increase is happening across the state,” said Dulce Suarez-Resnick of Acentria Insurance in Miami. “It’s affecting everyone.”

The longtime Florida insurance agent said many of her clients were seeing premiums rise several hundred dollars at renewal, adding that they were struggling to find a better rate just by shopping around.

“I have to re-quote my customers just like everyone else,” she said. “And I tell them, you are with the most competitive carrier.”

To save, Dulce suggests you consider raising your deductible.

“Most people in Florida have a $250 or $500 deductible on their comp and collision,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot of people opting for $1,000 until the rates regulate again.”

She also suggests calling your insurance agent to see if there are any additional discounts you can apply.

“If you have youngsters … if they have a B+ or better grade point average, get a copy of the report card or transcripts submitted to the insurance companies for that good student driver discount,” she said. “Send them to the driving school. Get that driver’s certificate and send it to the insurance company. That will help you there as well.”

If you’re a good driver and don’t drive long distances every day, you could save up to 30% on your premiums if you sign up for an in-vehicle monitoring program offered by many insurance companies, she said.

“If you opt for this program it has to apply to all of your vehicles,” she said. “So just keep that in mind. But it could help you save a lot of money.”

Dulce also said one of the largest insurance carriers has filed for a rate reduction.

“For 2024, actually, we see light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “I would venture to guess that so will the other carriers …They are starting to see the impact of these tort reform changes, so have a little patience.”

“We just finished passing Commercial Blvd on A1A and the lights went on and we got pulled over,” Lynn said. “I was like, what are we doing? We’re going 25 miles an hour. We’re not doing anything.”

Lynn’s husband was driving but the officer went straight to the passenger side and told her she was the reason why he had pulled them over, she said. A license plate reader had flagged their car, which was registered to Lynn.

“Your license is suspended,” Lynn said the officer told her during the traffic stop. “I said, whose? He says, ‘yours’ … and he said, ‘luckily you’re not driving because I could arrest you and give you a ticket.’”

Lynn was stunned.

“My heart was palpitating because I’m like what are you talking about?” she said. “How could my license be suspended?”

Lynn did some digging and eventually discovered the suspension was the result of an insurance issue linked to a car she had sold over two years earlier. She said she canceled her insurance the day she sold her car and turned in the tag to a local motor vehicle service center.

“I did everything right,” she said. “That’s what’s so frustrating.”

She also went to a local DMV office to try to clear things up.

“Nobody gave me the chance to,” she said. “I had all the papers to show I didn’t own the car. They just told me to go over here and pay $150.”

A few days later, Lynn mailed a refund request. She called to check on the status and said she was told she would be getting her money back.

“What about the suspension,” she said she asked the woman on the phone. “She said, ‘Well, that stays on your record’. I said, why would that stay on my record if I didn’t do anything?”

That’s when Lynn turned to NBC6 Responds for help.

NBC6 reached out to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles on her behalf. In an email, a spokesperson told NBC6 Lynn’s license was clear and that the suspension “…will be removed from her record as soon as the refund has been issued-which they are in the process of doing.”

“If I didn’t get pulled over on Aug. 25, I’d still be driving with a suspended license with no knowledge of it,” she said.

The spokesperson told NBC6 that if a driver’s license has been suspended, the agency sends a letter to the address on file, something Lynn said she never received in 2021.

You can check your driver’s license status by clicking on either of these two links:

1. https://services.flhsmv.gov/DLCheck/DLCheckResultView.aspx
2. https://mydmvportal.flhsmv.gov/Home/en/PublicWeb/DLCheck/Check

You can also obtain a transcript of your driving record by clicking here.

It started when Antonella Re, a Medley shelter volunteer, shared a video on social media in May calling for help keeping the dogs cool.

“That video went viral, luckily, and we got a lot of support from the community,” Re said.

Soon, the community starting donating items to help the dogs, including several commercial fans donated by the company Big Ass Fans. 

At the time, volunteers and activists asked the county to hold weekly adoption events at Medley to help clear it out. They did but didn’t get the results they wanted. 

“We only had four adoptions this past month out of Medley,” says Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Annette Jose.

Though Medley was meant to be a temporary shelter, in her current budget, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava set aside $77,000 to repair and renovate the facility this year but NBC6 found almost all that money went into repairing the old structure and not a single taxpayer dollar was used for renovations.  

“Basically, all the renovations that we’ve seen so far in the past year, have come from the community and not the shelter,” Re said.

The renovations funded by the community include playpens that were recently installed with money raised by Antonella Re and the nonprofit FOMA. Asked why the county set aside money for renovations in Medley but didn’t use it, the mayor says plans changed. 

“We don’t really want to maintain medley in the long term so we’re making sure that it’s safe clean habitable and the plan is not to rebuild the shelter,” said the mayor.

The county is working on sending some of the Medley dogs to other states where they have a better chance of being adopted and continue to promote local adoptions.

In the meantime, activists say they will continue fighting to improve conditions inside all the shelters citing a respiratory disease that spread among pets.

Activists also claim, despite having a “no kill” designation, many animals die in Miami-Dade shelters. Public records show at least 25 dogs were euthanized this past year after they were found to be aggressive or because they were sick. 

Pets like Chanel who was put up for adoption after her family surrendered her when they became homeless.

“I went and adopted her,” said Roger Amador an animal rights activist.

Amador says Chanel was friendly but before he could take her home, animal services said they had to spay her.

“I went to pick her up the next day she was so hurt she couldn’t get up out of her kennel when they tried to force her out they alleged that she growled and they labeled her dangerous and they euthanized her,” Amador said.

Director Annette Jose disputes Roger Amador’s story. She claims the dog had shown signs of aggression before. 

“The more we saw her around other dogs we realized she would not be a good candidate for adoption especially with someone that has dogs like Mr. Amador,” Jose said.

When asked if it was a mistake to let Amador adopt the dog Jose replied “That was a mistake yes.”

The director of Animal Services says they have a 93% save rate and only euthanize dogs that are aggressive, are in behavioral distress or are suffering from a medical condition that can’t be treated.

She agrees with activist that pets don’t belong in shelters, they belong in a loving home which is why she urges people to consider adopting a sheltered animal.

Its two locations in North Miami and Lauderhill provide up to 12 hours a day of medical day-care for dozens of children who, through age 20, need nursing intervention.

PediPEC and other facilities known as P-PECs — prescribed pediatric extended care centers – may be in more demand, now that a federal judge has ordered the state to do more to transition children out of nursing homes and into the community.

The state is appealing that order, saying it’s impossible to find enough nurses to provide the round-the-clock care those kids would need at home.

But P-PECs can be an option during the day for those children.

Kids like 16-year-old D’mani Fasano.

He was in neo-natal intensive care for five months, diagnosed with cerebral palsy, developmental delays and extreme prematurity, before his mother said she learned P-PECs were an alternative to nursing homes.

Whether they are at risk for seizures, like D’mani, need to be fed through a tube, or require speech, behavioral or physical therapy, the nurses, EMTs and other staff at PediPEC can accommodate them, said Horn, who is herself a registered nurse.

It also gives their parents or other caregivers some time on their own, “for work, if they don’t have a car, if they’re going to school,” Horn said. “It’s a relief, too, because you know where your child is and they’re in good hands here.”

Thomas said the place is “Amazing. Family oriented. They love on your kids like as if they were their own.”

And, as the judge in the federal case found, medically complex children benefit from being in the community.

“In a nursing home, they’re not as on-hands,” Thomas said. “Here, they’re more on-hands with the kids, individually and together.”

Inger York, a medical foster parent, has three kids, ages 6 to 9, at PediPEC’s North Miami location.

“All my children’s needs are here,” she said. “Their therapy’s here, their education’s here, the nutrition is here, their love is here.”

U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks this summer found the state illegally discouraged kids from getting care outside nursing homes, in part by not providing and paying enough for private-duty nurses needed at home.

“I commend that judge because the state is being selfish,” York said.

Attorneys for the state Agency for Healthcare Administration argued in court it was paying nurses all it could and it’s appealing the judge’s order that it steer kids away from nursing homes, claiming it’s impossible to find all the needed nurses.

But the judge noted Florida’s private-duty nursing reimbursement of $29.10 an hour is less than half of that paid by Mississippi and Louisiana.

Horn, the PediPEC administrator, noted the same low reimbursement rates the judge found hinder staffing for private-duty nurses also affect P-PECs, which receive $260 in Medicaid reimbursement for up to 12 hours of care.

“We need to get reimbursed more,” she said, adding it’s difficult to attract enough nurses. “I mean, these are the most special kids in the world. They deserve everything.”

Hard as it may be, Horn said they try to meet the need.

“Well, I’m a nurse. My director of nursing’s a nurse. We’ll do what we can. We’re never going to turn anybody down.”

The state is asking an appeals court to block Judge Middlebrooks’ order from taking effect while its appeal is pending.