Five men charged in shooting of Miami-Dade detective expected in bond court
MIAMI - Five men arrested in connection to the shooting of a Miami-Dade narcotics detective are expected in bond court on Friday afternoon.
An attorney for the accused shooter, Steve Gollan IV, was present for him at a morning hearing in which the state argued that the attempted second degree murder charge he's facing should be increased.
"It's the state's position that there should be probable cause for attempted first degree murder on a law enforcement officer," said the prosecutor.
Gallon's attorney countered.
"We'll he's not charged with that, he's charged with attempted second on a law enforcement officer. It doesn't indicate anywhere in here why he would've known he was a law enforcement officer. It does not indicate he was driving a marked unit, it does not indicate he was wearing anything that would signify that he was a police officer," he said.
According to the senior law enforcement source, the undercover detective was conducting surveillance as part of a major narcotics investigation and was following a car as part of that probe.
Police believe the driver of the car, who they identified as 30-year-old Atiba Moore, realized he was being followed and may have deliberately led them to the area of NW 5th Avenue and 43rd Street where the shooting took place.
Detectives are investigating the possibility that Moore called ahead to an accomplice and organized the subsequent ambush.
When the car arrived in the area of 43rd Street, the detective got out of his car and approached Moore. As he walked up to him, a man, who police say was Gallon, came up behind the detective and shot him in the back of the neck. He then fled.
"Even after he was shot, he continued to move forward and take him (Moore) into custody," said Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez.
Moore has been charged with soliciting first degree murder.
The injured officer was rushed to Jackson Memorial where bullet fragments were removed from his head and neck. The detective was then released from the hospital.
Miami police sealed off the neighborhood as the gunman fled into a house. Detectives found the location and surrounded it. As the SWAT team was waiting for a search warrant to go into the residence, the alleged gunman Gollan came out and surrendered.
Gollan IV is the son of Miami-Dade County School Board member Steve Gallon III, according to the source.
The three others arrested in the investigation have been charged with being accessories after the fact. They've been identified as Andre Copeland, Kendrick Watkins, and Fredrick Watkins. They're accused of harboring Gollan after the shooting.
Ramirez said it's time for violence against police officers to end.
"I'm tired of being here at the hospital four times already for injured officers being stopped and attacked and this has to stop. If you attack an officer, you're attacking the community, you're attacking children," said Ramirez.
