A 22-year-old man was brazenly abducted from his North Miami apartment by a pair of thugs dressed like cops in the middle of a chaotic shootout, then dumped dead on a remote roadway hours later with the getaway vehicle set ablaze, authorities said.
Eddrick Malik Bethune was snatched just after midnight on Sunday, Oct. 4, from the Aliro Apartments at 14040 Biscayne Boulevard, where gunfire erupted and two men in dark clothing, one reportedly wearing a shirt with “POLICE” on the back, smashed through a third-floor window and leaped to the ground, according to Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office investigators and chilling cellphone video that went viral.
The grainy footage, shot from the parking lot of the multi-story complex, captures the nighttime chaos: bright flashes of gunfire lighting up the building, followed by the two suspects jumping from the shattered window. One hits the grass, then both race toward Bethune. They are seen beating and restraining him before dragging the young man into the back of a gray sedan, the rear passenger door left swinging open as they sped off into the darkness. Cash and blood were later found scattered near the broken window.
Around 7:25 a.m. the same day, a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office captain discovered Bethune’s body lying on the shoulder of the road near Southwest 216th Street and 189th Avenue in the rural Redland area, roughly 40 miles south of the apartment complex. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators quickly connected the dots. The burned-out silver sedan found intentionally torched near Southwest 248th Street and 157th Avenue matched the vehicle used in the abduction, and Bethune matched the description of the man forced into the car, deputies said. Another person was wounded in the initial shooting and taken to a hospital; their identity has not been released.
No arrests have been made. Authorities have not confirmed the men were actual law enforcement, and emphasize the disguises appear to have been a ruse. North Miami Police and the Sheriff’s Office are still combing both scenes for evidence and have released a public appeal for tips, circulating a homicide flyer with Bethune’s photo and offering up to $5,000 through Crime Stoppers.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Homicide Detective J. Rodriguez at (305) 471-2400 or Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS. All tips are anonymous.
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