Days after the murders of a man and woman inside a home in Pembroke Pines, a break in the case led authorities to apprehend the suspect — the grandson of the owner of the house where the victims were found — in Miami Gardens, following a pursuit that ended when deputies said they were forced to fire.
Cellphone video and 7News cameras captured a heavy law enforcement presence along the Florida Turnpike and near the 1300 block of Northwest 188th Street in Miami Gardens, late Sunday morning.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, detectives with Pembroke Pines Police had uncovered evidence to arrest 27-year-old Isaiah Collins for the murders of Octavis Meyers and the female victim, whom they have not identified.
Pembroke Pines Police said the victims were found dead inside their home, located along the 1700 block of Northwest 109th Avenue, Wednesday afternoon.
Sunday morning, an off-duty MDSO deputy spotted Collins at a park in Miami Gardens, in the area of Northwest 191st Street and Northwest Sunshine State Parkway.
The deputy reported the sighting, but when other deputies responded, a pursuit ensued.
“When the sheriff’s deputy approached the subject, the subject immediately took flight. He actually ran across the Florida Turnpike, jumped into this canal here, adjacent to the street,” said MDSO Undersheriff Christoper Carothers.
“Subject is in the water. He took off his shirt, he still has on his pants, his turquoise pants,” a dispatcher is heard saying in tadio transmissions.
“When he crossed the canal bank, [he] climbed a tree,” said Carothers.
Cellphone video captured the frightening moment when, authorities said, deputies were forced to draw their weapons.
Invesitigators said one of the deputies discharged their firearm, striking Collins in the arm.
Paramedics airlifted the suspect to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.
Before they uncovered the new evidence, Pembroke Pines Police detectives said they were concerned with Collins’ well-being, considering he may have been a victim, and they initially did not name him a suspect in the case.
“We don’t know where he is, and it’s very unusual, if he lives in that house, that he hasn’t been heard from in several days,” said Prembroke Pines Police Capt. Adam Feiner. “We are deeply concerned that he may also be a victim of a crime.”
Collins is facing charges from MDSO in connection to his capture. Pembroke Pines detectives will charge him with two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon as soon as he is released from the hospital.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed they are investigating the deputy-involved shooting.