.BY LAURA ISENSEE AND TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
lisensee@MiamiHerald.com
Miami-Dade police on Friday identified two armed intruders who were killed during a home invasion on Thanksgiving Eve.
Dead in the robbery attempt: Derrick Fussell, 28, and Gustavo Perez, 23.
Police say the two men burst into the apartment at 17255 SW 95th Ave. at about 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday. The homeowner, Antonio Luis Delpino, 27, fired at the men.
Perez was felled by the gunfire. Fussell jumped from the third-floor apartment in an attempt to escape, and died from his injuries at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Delpino will likely not face charges, since the men broke into his home and he was defending himself, police said.
According to detectives, the incident began about 10 p.m. Wednesday when two armed men broke into the apartment at 17255 SW 95th Ave. The resident, who was also armed, greeted the intruders with gunfire.
Detectives did not speculate publicly about the intruders' motive.
The shooting rattled the Village Homes and Condos at Palmetto Bay, an ordinarily quiet 181-unit complex.
Neighbors were wakened by the sound of gunfire, and some saw one of the injured intruders struggling to get back onto his feet after falling from the third-floor window.
Bloody handprints were visible Thursday on the wall under that window. A mattress had been propped up against the broken window above.
``Nothing like this ever happened here before,'' said Sergio Tejada, who was visiting his aunt in a nearby unit for Thanksgiving. ``It's a pretty safe neighborhood -- or it was.''
The homeowner could not be reached at the unit Thursday.
Under Florida's Stand Your Ground Law, a resident can presume the threat of bodily harm or death from anyone who breaks into a home, and is allowed to take defensive measures, including deadly force, against an intruder.
Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/26/1944238/police-identify-armed-robbers.html#ixzz16QEFxDWf