Police: Man, 92, shot by neighbor

PEMBROKE PINES — They knew each other and were residents of the same community, but now one is dead and the other is in jail charged with the murder of the father of a Miami Herald editor.

Wesley James Perez, 24, of Pembroke Pines, is accused of fatally shooting a 92-year-old neighbor he sometimes did yard work for in Tanglewood Lakes, police said.

The victim has been identified as Fernando Frias, the father of Miami Herald food and dining editor Carlos Frias. The elder Frias lived with his son but frequently returned to the Tanglewood neighborhood to visit the home he built with his late wife, the Herald reported.

“He would go out of his way to help his neighbors, even to his detriment,” Carlos Frías said in the Herald Tuesday. “He is a loss for our family — and he’s a loss to anyone who met him. He was that kind of special, giving person.”

Fernando Frias was found shot to death about 9:30 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of Southwest 100 Avenue and Sixth Court, investigators said.

No other details about the killing have been released.

At his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon, Perez decided to represent himself without help from a public defender.

He told Broward Judge Corey Amanda Cawthon that this “was a case of defamation of character” and he requested 30 to 45 days to hire a private lawyer.

Cawthon ordered Perez to be held without bond in the Broward County Jail on a charge of premeditated murder.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the fatal shooting to contact the Pembroke Pines police by calling 954-431-2200 or by emailing tips@ppines.com. Anonymous tips can be sent to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 or online at browardcrimestoppers.org.

Perez