Latest news with #Opa-locka
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man killed in box truck crash on I-75: FHP
The Brief A 36-year-old man died after a box truck crashed on Monday in Sarasota County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. It happened shortly after 5 p.m. on the northbound side of I-75 north of the exit to Laurel Rd. FHP says the truck's passenger died while the driver survived with minor injuries. VENICE, Fla. - A man died and another was hurt after troopers say a box truck crashed along I-75 in Sarasota County during the afternoon rush on Monday. What we know According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash happened just after 5 p.m. Monday on the northbound side of I-75 north of the exit to Laurel Rd. FHP says the driver, a 26-year-old Opa-locka man, lost control of the truck, hit a traffic sign and overturned. Troopers say the passenger, a 36-year-old Hollywood man, died at the scene. The driver survived with minor injuries. What we don't know FHP did not release the name of the man who died or any details on what may have caused the driver to lose control of the truck. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source This story was written with information from the Florida Highway Patrol. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
Miami Herald
23-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
A ticket from Miami-Dade shared Tuesday's only Florida Lottery jackpot hit
The only winning jackpot among Tuesday's Mega Millions, Cash4Life, Jackpot Triple Play and Fantasy 5 drawings was split between tickets from Opa-locka and the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area. And the Opa-locka winner didn't have to pay for the ticket. The Mega Millions jackpot will be at $60 million for Friday's drawing after no one held all the numbers Tuesday. The Fantasy 5 midday draw — 15, 17, 24, 33, 36 — matched a ticket bought at a 7-Eleven in Spring Hill and a free Quick Pick ticket from an Opa-locka Kwik Mart and U-Haul rental at 1710 NW 151st St. Each winning ticket is worth $26,921. These tickets must be cashed at one of the Florida Lottery district offices or the main office in Tallahassee, each of which is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can be a walk-in or make an appointment. The Miami district office is at 14621 Oak Ln. in Miami Lakes, and can be reached at 305-364-3080 or MIARC@ The Tampa office at Centerpoint Business Park, 1911 U.S. 301 North, Suite 170, reachable at 813-744-6134 or TAMRC@
Miami Herald
31-03-2025
- Miami Herald
Gunman accused of two murders, including 10 year old at nail salon, on trial for his life
Anthawn Ragan Jr. made headlines more than a decade ago when a robbery at a nail salon near North Miami went wrong and a 10-year-old boy was killed by a bullet that police believe was meant for his father. But it was the execution of a man at a motel on the western edge of North Miami three weeks earlier during what police said was a violent month-long crime spree, that may cost Ragan his life. Ragan, 30, who turned to a life of crime prior to his teens and while his parents were incarcerated, is facing the death penalty for the 2013 murder of Luis Miguel Perez. Police say Perez, 21, was ambushed and shot twice by Ragan in the stairwell of a Motel Seven. As he stumbled up a flight of steps to an exterior hallway closer to his room, several more bullets were pumped into his body by another shooter standing over Perez. 'F... , we here for you,' a witness told police Ragan said as he fired his semi-automatic handgun into Perez. Another witness said they heard the other shooter say he unloaded his clip into Perez. Now, almost a dozen years after Perez was killed and the child was murdered, Ragan will get his day in court. His trial on a first-degree premeditated murder charge for the killing of Perez is set to begin Monday before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler-Mendez. Any link between Ragan and Perez hasn't been shared publicly by state prosecutors. But police summaries in the trove of evidence collected in the case over the years indicate the men knew may have known each other and that the motive in the shooting was something other than robbery. A friend of Perez's who walked across the street to a convenience store with him to buy some cigars moments before the shooting told police Perez had about $800 in his pocket. The shooters left it behind. Ragan, who was believed to be a member of an Opa-locka gang known as '21 Jump,' also didn't bother grabbing the key to room #208 where Perez lived. Perez dropped it on the concrete landing next to where he was felled. Police believe Perez was a small-time drug dealer who sold mostly weed and some MDMA, more commonly referred to as Molly, from his motel room. Ragan's lead defense attorney Tony Moss and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting the case, declined comment. 10-year-old slain at nail salon Even as Monday's opening statements near, it was a murder Ragan is accused of committing three weeks after Perez was killed that galvanized a community and had detectives scrambling. Around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 22, 2013, a Friday, Ragan and another man stormed into the Hong Kong Nails Salon at 14832 NW Seventh Ave., aimed their handguns at workers and customers and demanded money and valuables, witnesses told police. The men collected $300 in cash and property. But Ragan wasn't done, police said. Before leaving, he turned back and fired at least two shots inside the salon, witnesses told police. One bullet struck a man named Hai Nam Vu in the shoulder. He survived. But the other bullet took the life of Vu's fifth-grade son, Aaron Vu, piercing the femoral artery in his thigh. The Vu family owned the nail salon. Witnesses said Ragan and the other man ran out of the store and jumped into a Dodge 1500 pickup truck and sped off. Police found Ragan a month later at his sister's Miami home. Witnesses identified him through photographs, police said. Not long after Ragan's violent crime spree, then-North Miami Police Maj. Neal Cuevas called him ruthless, 'with no regard for human life.' Besides the Perez and Vu murders, Ragan was also accused of a string of store robberies and attempted murders. Now retired, Cuevas said he stands by his comments. The blatant shootings outraged the community Memorials were held for the murdered Vietnamese boy. Fliers were posted. Hundreds of people attended Aaron's memorial service at St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church in Southwest Ranches. His dad showed up in a wheelchair. After the service, the young boy who loved to play the recorder was buried in Hollywood. Friends said Aaron liked to dance and entertain and was just a general joy to be around. Police said when Ragan was captured, he put up a fight. When the Vu family was told the man accused of murdering Aaron was wanted for another murder, one family member asked, 'How many families has he hurt?' More than a decade after the shootings, the Vu's family business in a strip mall on the west side of Northwest Seventh Avenue is now a tuxedo rental shop. For Vu's death, Ragan is facing felony first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder and a host of robbery and aggravated assault charges. The state is expected to seek the death penalty, though no trial date has been set yet. Suspected shooter's complicated past Ragan began a life of crime that escalated in violence long before he was accused of the month-long murderous crime spree just shy of his 19th birthday, court records show. By the end of November 2013 — when police say Ragan took two lives and attempted to take two others — his father was already serving life in prison on a murder charge and his mother was behind bars for ripping off the federal government. State records of Ragan's lengthy criminal history show his interactions with law enforcement began even before he was a teen. Many of the charges were dropped. He was charged with grand theft for trying to steal more than $100,000 in property four days shy of his 13th birthday, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office records show. A month later, he was arrested by Miami-Dade Schools Police for simple assault and disorderly conduct. What followed were separate strong-armed robbery and car-jacking charges by Miramar Police and a charge of carrying a gun on school property in Miami Gardens. Moss, the defense attorney, also served briefly as Anthawn Ragan Sr.'s attorney, before the elder Ragan chose to represent himself. It backfired. Ragan's dad was an aspiring boxer who had his career cut short when a friend shot him in the arm after an argument. Payback, police said, cost Ragan Sr. his freedom. He was convicted of shooting and killing the man as he came out of a Liberty City store. At the same time, Ragan's mother was serving a stint in prison for Social Security fraud. Month-long crime spree leads to two deaths The murderous crime spree that would lead to Ragan's capture began on the first day of November 2013, the day police said Ragan murdered Perez at the Motel Seven. His cohort, a man named Terry Nealy, testified on the state's behalf during an unrelated trial that Ragan fired first at Perez. Nealy admitted to standing over Perez as he lay on the ground and shooting him again. Nealy identified Ragan in surveillance video obtained by the state. Nealy would later work out a plea deal with the state and agree to be deposed under oath, according to his attorney at the time. Ragan's cohort received a 20-year sentence and probation in the Perez case. It's not clear if he will testify next week. Police said when they got to the motel where Perez was killed, they began chasing a Ford Crown Victoria that had taken off from the parking lot. As an officer caught up to it, the driver said he was rushing Perez to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. A witness told police he watched as the two men who shot Perez scurried up the stairs and one of them called out Perez's name. Perez's girlfriend told police that two weeks before the shooting, she got a phone call from her boyfriend who was almost crying. She said he told her he had gotten into some type of trouble. Though she wasn't sure, she told police she assumed it had something to do with his drug supplier. Three weeks after the Perez murder — on Nov. 22 — came the murder of 10-year-old Aaron Vu and the attempted murder of his father in the nail salon. In between the two murders, police say Ragan held up a Liberty City convenience store, a North Miami hamburger joint and a Northwest Miami-Dade dollar store. Convicted in cyclist's shooting Ragan's only conviction for a shooting came almost six years later — thanks to modern technology and a bit of luck — in a separate case that had gone cold. On Nov. 7, 2013, in the midst of Ragan's alleged crime spree, Kevin Burke was shot as he rode his bike home from a friend's house at 2 a.m. During trial testimony, Burke said a car pulled up and a man asked him to hand over money. When Burke refused and sped up, he was shot. Burke was injured and survived after a month in the hospital. Six years later, forensics linked the gun in the Burke shooting to the same one used in the shootings of Aaron, his father and Perez. In 2019, Ragan was convicted of the attempted murder of Burke with a deadly weapon. An appeal to the 3rd District Court failed. Though investigators haven't shared their perceived motive in the Perez murder, police believe the other shootings that Ragan is accused of were all botched robberies. 'He's a cold-blooded killer,' said Cuevas, the retired North Miami cop. 'Plain and simple.'
Miami Herald
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
This Miami native wants to teach Black students things they might not learn in school
On a breezy February afternoon, a cacophony of sounds can be heard from the Miami Shores Elementary School with soaring sights to match: Students in the Art of Transformation after school program are busy doing acrobatics from aerial silks, learning dance steps in the bandroom, working on art projects or building sail cars, which are powered by wind, in their STEM class. This is the vision Nakia Bowling has for young Black children in the communities she services. 'I wanted activities you typically don't find in communities of color,' she said. Read more: This historian wants you to learn Broward's Black history. His flashcards might help Bowling, the vice president of government affairs, development and family services for Opa-locka nonprofit Ten North Group, oversees their after school program, which shares the name of the nonprofit's annual art activation during Miami Art Week. In the afternoons, Bowling, 49, can be found at one of the three after school program sites: Miami Shores Elementary, Norwood Elementary and Jeremiah Academy in Miami Gardens. Black students comprise nearly 88% of the attendees which serves students in grades fourth through eighth, she said. The idea to incorporate a more artistic after school program came to Bowling during the pandemic, when she noticed students in the nonprofit's after school coding program were not engaged after spending long days in front of the computer. 'We really wanted kids to just develop using their hands and their creativity and movement, and so that's what spawned this,' she said, adding they polled students, parents and funders about what they'd like to see in the program. After receiving a $4.5 million grant spread across five years (or $900,000 per year) from The Children's Trust, the Art of Transformation after school program launched in August serving more than 250 students. Part of Bowling's mission is to help students know their history and see themselves. The program has 'required reading' from authors such as Toni Morrison and Harriet Beecher Stowe for students or their parents. Bowling's efforts come as criticism for diversity, equity and inclusion increases and the state has pushed legislation that limits how Black history is taught in Florida schools. 'We know there has been this systemic effort to kind of erase Black culture, Black history, and we are essentially steeped in that,' she said, 'and we want to be very intentional and go against the grain by having required reading books.' Bowling wants the students in the after school program to have pride in themselves and see themselves reflected in the leadership. That also means hiring staff that look like them. 'I'm very intentional and very vocal about wanting to hire Black artists. I want artists of color to teach children of color, I want to hire Black men to teach Black students and non-Black students.' Bowling pointed to STEM teacher, Thechelet Charles, and dance instructor, Taurean Devoe as examples for the students, noting it's important that Black children see Black men in such roles as they are often bombarded with negative images. 'I think it's equally important when it's non-children of color in the classroom so that they're presented with a first positive of a Black male, so they carry that.' Unafraid of the criticism that comes with hiring a predominantly Black staff, Bowling said, 'They're qualified. I hire the best, and I believe that I can find the best in my community.' As she put it, she 'wants all the smoke.' 'You are worthy' Growing up immersed in the culture of Liberty City, Bowling was raised to have a profound sense of community and appreciation for her Blackness. She described her childhood in a tight-knit community full of Black business owners and doctors, and where your teachers were often your neighbors. 'I grew up seeing greatness,' she said. 'That was my whole block I grew up on – all Black stores, owners.' After starting high school at New World School of the Arts, Bowling transferred to Miami Northwestern, where she said she learned to find her voice. It was her transformative experience as a student at Miami Northwestern that shaped her view of herself, recalling her teacher, Ms. Wallace, sitting her down and educating her on the McDuffie Riots and its importance. 'It broke that shell. I met people who took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to explore beyond my own bubble,' she said. 'They were big on preserving our history, not just preserving it but sharing and making sure what we knew it was important in a school like Miami Northwestern, where only Black kids could go,' she said of the school that was established in 1955 as a vocational school for Black students. Once she graduated high school, Bowling went on to South Carolina State University where she received her journalism degree. From there, she worked at the Miami Times, under late publisher Rachel Reeves. 'She was tough at the time because she's a Black woman publisher,' Bowling said. 'She said you can find your space to make an impact,' Bowling continued, 'That's really what I loved because immediately the Black press was making an impact in the Black community.' Bowling would later switch to public relations working for various nonprofits, including M.O.V.E.R.S., Inc, Camillus House and The Carrie Meek Foundation before working with Ten North Group. Bowling said doing her nonprofit work gives her the same rush she got when writing about Black communities in Miami. 'I get the same euphoria when a child who's never experienced silk aerial gets up on the rope and they're completely blown away,' she said. Ten North Group's education manager LaTasha Bratton says Bowling is a force. 'She pushes the limits of everything,' she said. 'You'll see this greatness that comes out of that.' The two reminisced about their time at Miami Northwestern and what they learned from classes there. 'Black Miami was a whole thing they taught at Northwestern, and you don't, at the time, appreciate it. You're a teenager,' Bowling said. 'Now, living in this climate and seeing children being stripped of that, you realize how precious that is and how valuable that lesson is and how it shaped you.' Bowling's experience during her high school years is what she seeks to create for the students in the after school program, helping them know their worth and understand their history. One way they've done that is by collecting the students' artwork and curating it for a professional exhibit in Opa-locka and holding an art show. Bowling said the children, their teachers and visitors were moved to tears. 'They need to see that. You can't replicate that feeling. They see themselves, and they see someone being proud of them, saying, 'Hey, you matter to me. You are worthy.''
