Cops: Boys killed man for joy ride
16-year-olds shot driver dead for his Mercedes, investigators say
Nelson Vega and his girlfriend pulled up to her home in his white Mercedes-Benz unaware of the danger coming: Two teens were on the hunt for a nice car — and they were packing guns.
As Vega walked her to her door, the car theft suddenly went down. Police say the teens bolted for his Mercedes, and when Vega tried to stop them, the gunfire came: They shot him dead.
The two 16-year-old boys, who were arrested and charged with murder in Vega’s killing, have recounted their deadly outing to police, in which they say they planned to steal a car to go joyriding, police reports show.
One teen claimed Vega came at them, and so both teens fired at Vega at the same time, according to their interview in records obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Thursday.
The attack on Vega, a charismatic 39-year-old bartender from Miramar, came Sunday night after he had wrapped up his day at J.P. Mulligan’s sports bar and left the car engine running while in his girlfriend’s tranquil neighborhood.
“He was a gentle soul,” said Vega’s stepdad, Donnie Greenberg, who choked back tears. “He never turned anybody down, just a good friend.”
Greenberg said Vega worked with him in both
window-tinting, and at the bar, whichwas his true love. He also recently passed a test to get his real estate license. Greenberg said Vega’s mother is distraught as she prepares to bury her only son on Friday.
The boys are cousins who’ve had past run-ins with police, state records show. This time, police say, they were roaming around for a good opportunity to take a car, happening upon Vega’s girlfriend’s neighborhood, Hampton Homes at Miramar, nestled in the southeast corner of Miramar Parkway and Palm Avenue, a community lush with plants and outdoor artistry.
The Sun Sentinel isn’t naming the teens because they are minors, and Miramar police and Broward prosecutors haven’t determined yet whether they will be charged as adults.
As the car theft happened, one teen said he had trouble getting Vega’s Mercedes to drive and kept pushing on the brakes, a police report said. It was just enough time for Vega to see what was happening and to get back to his car.
According to a Miramar police report:
When Vega tried to prevent the teens from stealing his car, the boys started to run away. One of the teens dropped his gun and went back for it, while the other ordered Vega not tomove.
They claim Vega was going to hit them. They “each fired multiple rounds.” Vega slid over the hood of his car and made his way back to his girlfriend’s doorway, where police found him. He died at the hospital.
According to records, one teen initially said he found the car with the keys inside at a CVS parking lot and took it for a drive. Then he changed his story and told investigators he was walking with his cousin “searching for a vehicle to steal and drive around in.”
After the crime, the teens found Vega’s phone in the car, which they tossed out the window. The teen let his cousin out of his car to go find his own car. The two met up at a gas station.
About 3:30 a.m. Monday, cops spotted the Mercedes at a Miami Gardens gas station when the teen was getting gas. The teen ran from the car.
A helicopter and K-9 dog found him hiding under a truck and hewas arrested. A dog with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was called in to sniff out the .380-caliber gun near where the teen was found hiding.
The other teen was found in a Kia SUV that had been stolen in Opa-locka.
Vega had left his workplace, J.P. Mulligan’s in Pembroke Pines, with his girlfriend. The police wouldn’t say whether Vega was working that night, but he left the bar in his white 2014 Mercedes Benz.
Vega’s girlfriend couldn’t be reached for comment despite a visit to her home Thursday.
J.P. Mulligan’s owner, Shari Rondon, said Vega worked as a bartender for a couple of years.
“He was a great employee,” she said. “He started as a server, became a bartender, he had a lot of customers here, a lot of friends here and he’s going to be greatly missed.”
“He had a good following” at the bar, she said. “He had a lot of friends.”
“He was a beautiful human being,” said Fabio Lanzas, of Miami, whosaid they were best friends. The pair were friends for 20 years. “He was a people person. He was always smiling, never in a bad mood, always giving good advice. Never selfish.”
Jessie Smith, a friend for 10 years and bartender at another bar where she referred to herself as Vega’s bartender, said Vega was kind, and enjoyed the friendships from fellow bartenders. He offered to walk the girls to their car if they needed it. “He was a true gentleman,” she said.
“Nelson was the type of man to give you the shirt off his back. When we were at the bar, he always made sure we were taken care of. He was our backup. He was a good man.”
The teens’ past run-ins with police have happened in Miami-Dade, state records show.
In February this year, Miami Gardens police arrested one teen on the charge of third-degree grand theft. The other teen has had a string of charges against him over the past year, ranging from criminal mischief to burglary to trespassing.
In the Miramar shooting, the Broward State Attorney’s Office said it still was reviewing the teens’ case. The Broward Public Defender’s Office did not say whether it is handling the defense for the teens.