By Sofia Santana
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
TAMARAC, Fla. — The Broward Sheriff’s Office this afternoon released the identities of two men who were wounded in a deputy-involved shooting Tuesday night at a warehouse near McNab Road and the Sawgrass Expressway.
Two Sheriff’s SWAT team members fired four shots during the incident, critically wounding Rodolfo Martinez, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, in the arm and chest, officials said. Lazaro Cruz, 26, of North Miami, was injured when a bullet grazed his chest. Both men remain hospitalized at Broward General Medical Center.
Both men were armed and resisted deputies when they tried to arrest them during an undercover operation at a warehouse, said Sheriff Al Lamberti. Martinez, Cruz and a third man, Donald Duhart, Jr., 30, of Fort Lauderdale, had been planning a home invasion robbery and were set to carry out their plans Tuesday night when SWAT team members stormed in to make the arrests, Lamberti said.
Martinez and Cruz struggled and reached for their weapons, and that’s when two of the SWAT team members opened fired, Lamberti said.
Martinez and Cruz will likely face several charges, including cocaine trafficking and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, officials said. ATF agents took Duhart into custody but it was unclear where he was being held and on what charges.
None of the deputies involved were injured.
The two SWAT team members who fired their weapons have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is routine in any deputy-involved shooting. The deputies’ identities have not been made public.
Copyright 2008 South Florida Sun-Sentinel