Arrest made after a man was shot dead in a Coral Gables Publix lottery line
Coral Gables FL Feb 8, 2022 An arrest has been made in a deadly shooting at a South Florida Publix.
A Miami man was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after the Saturday night shooting of another Miami man inside the Coral Gables Publix supermarket. Miami-Dade police confirmed the arrest of 51-year-old Osmel Lugo-Gutierrez in the killing of 49-year-old Franklyn Jose Pineyro.
A Miami-Dade judge on Monday ordered Lugo-Gutierrez held without bond. During the brief hearing, Lugo-Gutierrez did not speak, nor did his attorney, Daniel Izquierdo.
An arrest affidavit says surveillance camera footage from the Publix at 106 Ponce de Leon Blvd. shows Pineyro buying Florida Lottery tickets in the customer service line when Lugo-Gutierrez approached him from behind. They began to argue, then each stepped toward one other.
The affidavit says the video shows Pineyro “lunged towards [Lugo-Gutierrez] with an extended left arm and open left palm” while losing his balance and stumbling to his left. When Pineyro regained his balance, the affidavit said, Lugo-Gutierrez stepped back. Pineyro stepped toward Lugo-Gutierrez again. The affidavit says Lugo-Gutierrez lifted the front of his T-shirt, pulled out a 9mm Glock 19 pistal from his front waistband and shot Pineyro in the chest. The affidavit says Lugo-Gutierrez later admitted to Miami-Dade police, which handles homicides in Coral Gables, that Pineyro wasn’t armed.
No one else was injured in the shooting, but the customer service desk is about five yards from the main entrance doors. Also, this happened around 6:15 p.m. Saturday, the start of lottery line rush hour in stores and gas stations, especially in or near Little Havana. In fact, the affidavit notes “a notable line was forming” behind Pineyro.
This Publix, at 37th Avenue and West Flagler Street, is across the street from the city of Miami to the north and not even 30 yards west of it.
Izquierdo, Lugo-Gutierrez’s attorney, declined to comment on the case, saying “we’re still conducting our investigation.” “It’s important to understand Mr. Lugo is presumed innocent, and he’s an honest hard-working family man with no criminal record,” Izquierdo said.
State records and online databases say Lugo-Gutierrez runs a construction company out of his Miami apartment about a half-mile walk from the store.
The store was opened as normal Sunday morning. Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous said in an email to the Miami Herald: “Our thoughts are with those who are impacted by this tragedy” and that counseling was available to store employees who needed it.
https://www.miamiherald.com
