Police Seeking Fat Joe As Witness To Double Murder

[mrtonguetwista]

Miami Beach police arrested a man they say murdered two people during a Memorial Day brawl on South Beach, and now they are seeking a possible witness to the gunplay: rapper Fat Joe.

Police say Jose ''Fat Joe'' Cartagena may have been with Lessli Paz and Joey Navarro, who were shot dead near Lincoln Road early Monday.

It is unclear whether the New York City rapper was directly involved in a fight that led to the fatal shootings, or how he slipped away from the scene. Detectives only want to talk to him as a possible witness, stressed Miami Beach police spokesman Sgt. Robert Hernandez.

A spokeswoman for Fat Joe, Aimee Morris, said she had not talked to the rapper and could not immediately comment. His whereabouts were not known Tuesday.

A member of the well-known hip-hop crew Terror Squad, Fat Joe has had several hit songs, including 2004's Lean Back. He recently released a new album called Me, Myself & I.

The arrest came as Miami Beach officials hailed the holiday weekend -- which in the past has been marked by racial tensions and a large number of arrests -- as a success this year.

SEARCH FOR SUSPECT

Paz, Navarro and several other men -- possibly including Fat Joe -- were in the rented black Cadillac Escalade that was parked outside of David's Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., just before 6 a.m.

That's when a fight broke out between some people in the Escalade and another man outside the popular Cuban eatery, although police did not say exactly what sparked the fight. Detectives said it started as a ``verbal altercation.''

Police say Jermaine ''Wufgang'' Chamberline, 24, of Miami Gardens, pulled a gun and fired four rounds into the group.

''As the two groups began punching and kicking each other, [Chamberline] reached into his right-front pocket and pulled out a 9mm handgun,'' according to an arrest report released Tuesday.

Three slugs hit Navarro, 26, of Homestead, who later died at the hospital. Paz, 25, of New York, died on the sidewalk of one gunshot wound.

When police arrived, they detained four men who claimed at first they were friends of the dead men but later refused to cooperate.

Then, minutes after the shooting, K-9 Sgt. Henry Doce noticed Chamberline, a doorman at at a Sunny Isles Beach apartment building, walking near Convention Center Drive and Dade Boulevard. Officers detained him and held him for questioning.

After sorting witness statements, detectives had enough information to place Chamberline at the scene, police said.

He eventually confessed, Hernandez said.

''If it weren't for that stop, we probably would never have solved this crime,'' Hernandez said. ``We weren't getting any cooperation from the victim's so-called friends.''

Miami Beach Det. Andrew Dohler charged Chamberline with two counts of second-degree murder and one of carrying a concealed weapon by a convicted felon. He was on probation for a burglary conviction -- he broke into a Fort Lauderdale auto sound store.

Navarro's family in Homestead declined to comment. Members of Paz's family could not be reached.

THE WEEKEND TALLY

For the last six years, hip-hop events in Miami Beach have been criticized for attracting a criminal element. Police have maintained a heavy presence criticized by civil rights groups, who have claimed racial profiling.

''Everything was going so well. It's a tragedy, certainly for the families of the victims,'' said Assistant City Manager Hilda Fernandez. ``The vast majority of people seemed to be there to have a good time.''

Nearly 800 people were arrested between Thursday and Monday, officials said Tuesday, significantly less than the more than 1,000 people held last year, mostly on misdemeanor charges. More than 60 guns also were taken this year, officials said.

[Grown Ass Kid]

i will never listen to another fat joe song again if he cooperates with the police in any way

[CRAFTY]

For the last six years, hip-hop events in Miami Beach have been criticized for attracting a criminal element. Police have maintained a heavy presence criticized by civil rights groups, who have claimed racial profiling.

Well obviously the heavy police presence is necessary since 800 arrests have been made in just a few days. That not all of those arrests were necessary? Maybe so. But don't tell me that - let's say - even 200 of those 800 arrests were made because of racial profiling.
I'm not taking any sides here...just saying, some people are quick to pull the race card.

[trappedinhell]

i wonder if he gonna snitch...