Miami, FL
Man charged in 10-year-old’s fatal 2015 shooting arrested in 2022 Miami double murder
A Miami man who once faced charges in the fatal shooting of a 10-year-old boy more than a decade ago has been arrested in connection with a 2022 double murder, records showed.
Ernest Rowell, 28, was arrested Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder in the Nov. 6, 2022 double shooting, an arrest warrant said.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Miami-Dade Corrections Ernest Rowell
Officers had responded to a Shot Spotter alert in the 700 block of Northwest 5th Avenue and found two men laying on a sidewalk unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds.
The victims, 28-year-old Deandre Mckeithen and 37-year-old Rayford Shipman III, were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center where they died from their injuries.
Investigators later recovered 28 spent bullet casings from the scene.
According to the warrant, surveillance video showed a Mercedes-Benz sedan passing the victims, who were standing on the corner of Northwest 5th Avenue and Northwest 8th Street.
Surveillance video from a Nov. 6, 2022 fatal double shooting in Miami.
The video showed the Mercedes come to a stop and two gunmen exited with assault rifles before they opened fire on the victims, the warrant said.
The gunmen then ran back to the vehicle which was driven by a third person and flee, the warrant said.
Using surveillance video and toll plate records, detectives found the vehicle’s owner, who said he rents the vehicle and advertises it on Instagram.
The owner said Rowell was a frequent client and had rented the vehicle on Oct. 27, 2022 and returned it on Nov. 7, 2022, the warrant said.
Investigators also discovered that Rowell’s phone was in the proximity of the shooting scene at the time of the double murder, the warrant said.
During a search of Rowell’s phone, investigators found a photo taken on Nov. 7, 2022 of Rowell wearing a gray hoodie and black ski mask which matched the description of the gunmen in the surveillance footage of the shooting, the warrant said.
The warrant for Rowell was issued last month and on Wednesday, he was arrested during a traffic stop involving Miami Police’s Gang Intelligence Unit and the FBI Violent Gang Task Force, records showed.
After he was booked into jail, Rowell appeared before a judge on Thursday who ordered him held without bond.
Rowell was previously charged in the March 2015 drive-by shooting that killed 10-year-old Marlon Eason, who was gunned down in front of his home in Overtown as he was playing basketball.
According to an arrest affidavit, Eason’s mother encountered Rowell and another teen, who admitted to killing her son. The teens said they were shooting at a car that had gang rivals inside, the affidavit said.
Rowell was 17 at the time of the shooting and court records showed the charges against him were dropped in March 2022, just months before the fatal double shooting.
The Oregon Ducks come off a chaotic recruiting period in the 2027 cycle, where they hosted official visitors and added to their list of commitments. Coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon staff are simultaneously looking ahead to future recruiting classes.
As the 2027 cycle starts to wind down and the 2028 cycle begins to pick up, the Ducks entered the recruiting sweepstakes for four-star edge rusher Elijah Tillman.
Oregon Ducks in the Mix for Four-Star EDGE Elijah Tillman
Tillman is a 6-7, 210-pound edge rusher from Loganville, Georgia. He’s listed as a consensus four-star recruit and is ranked as high as No. 152 in the class by Rivals.
In a recent interview with Rivals’ Chad Simmons, Tillman revealed that Oregon and the Miami Hurricanes are among the schools that he wants to visit. According to 247Sports, the Ducks offered him back on April 30, 2026, while the Hurricanes extended an offer all the way on January 25, 2025.
Tillman told Rivals that the different schools in the mix are even at the moment, but that Oregon and Miami were two of the schools that he wants to go out and see.
Four-Star Elijah Tillman’s Potential Oregon Ducks Fit
Sports Spring Football | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
With Tillman’s large frame, which still has the opportunity to grow, he would provide the Ducks with size on the edge right away.
The 2027 recruiting class currently features five-star edge rusher Rashad Streets, three-star Achilles Reyna and three-star Josh Christensen at the position. The program prepares for current starters Matayo Uiagelelei and Teitum Tuioti to head to the NFL Draft at the conclusion of the 2026 season, leaving opportunities for the next couple of recruiting classes.
Additionally, the Ducks haven’t earned any commitments from the state of Georgia in their 2027 recruiting class. The last commit Lanning landed from Georgia was Dayton Raiola in the 2026 class, who made his decision on February 4, 2026. Making a big push for Tillman could possibly reignite the program’s recruiting in the Peach State.
Miami Hurricanes vs. Oregon Ducks Recruiting Battle
Miami is the other program that appears to be making a big push early for Tillman. Oregon fans are very familiar with former Ducks coach Mario Cristobal, who took Oregon recruiting to a different level before leading the Hurricanes to the National Championship game last season.
Cristobal and the Hurricanes have battled Lanning and the Ducks for blue-chip recruits more and more over the recent recruiting cycles. Most notably, Miami flipped four-star cornerback Ai’King Hall’s commitment from Oregon earlier in the 2027 cycle.
The two rivals also emerged as finalists for linebacker recruit Jalaythan Mayfield, who ended up choosing the Indiana Hoosiers. Oregon got the best of the Hurricanes once in the 2027 cycle when four-star offensive lineman Gus Corsair committed to the Pacific Northwest program over the Vanderbilt Commodores and Miami.
While the Hurricanes aren’t a Big Ten rival that the Ducks commonly go toe-to-toe with on the field and in the recruiting realm, Cristobal’s role in the recruiting rivalry adds a little bit more fuel to battles for recruits like Tillman.
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The Miami Dolphins will have new starters at their cornerback positions since both Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas are not back with the team. The team drafted Chris Johnson in the first round and it’s pretty likely he’ll have a large role and should claim the one starting spot. The other starting spot should be up for grabs among the rest of the group. Jason Marshall is one of those players who has a better chance of claiming that starting spot after showing some flashes his rookie season. Jeff Hafley has already said he envision Marshall playing on the outside and the second-year corner should get plenty of chances to prove himself during the preseason.
You can check out that story here, and the rest of the day’s round-up below.
Phinsider News You May Have Missed
With Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres’ contract ending in February 2027, school board members are now looking to have his replacement by August.
Dotres has served as the superintendent for the third-largest school district since 2022. The school board started the search for his replacement in April.
More than 20 people applied for the position, but now only six have secured spots as semifinalists.
Here’s a closer look at who Miami-Dade’s superintendent might be:
Jose Bueno
With roughly 33 years of experience within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Bueno currently serves as Dotres’ Chief of Staff.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bueno’s tasks include coordinating and implementing major projects “that have significant district-wide impact on the goals of the district and involve coordination of other divisions and offices.”
He started as a teacher within the country back in 1993 and is a Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University graduate.
Ernie Lozano
Lozano is currently Broward County’s Public Schools Chief Human Resources Officer.
His passion is creating a safe and secure environment for both students and staff.
“He has been recognized for his contributions to the District’s safety and security initiatives, receiving accolades for his exceptional leadership and commitment to student and staff well-being,” according to a bio on the site for the National Student Safety and Security Conference & Workshop.
Before his career in human resources, Lozano served within education as a teacher, assistant principal and more.
Sylvia Mitchell
Hope builder, executive leadership coach and seasoned superintendent are all descriptions Mitchell has on her LinkedIn.
Living in Houston, Texas, Mitchell is familiar with the Sunshine State since she was a principal at Charter Schools USA in Fort Lauderdale back in 2012.
She has also served as superintendent twice in Texas and is currently Executive Vice President, Curriculum, Design & Development for Per Scholars.
Carlos Perez
Perez is a charter school principal in West Palm Beach and the former executive director of the Education Reform Project, a nonprofit organization based in Miami Beach.
According to the nonprofit, Perez has over 25 years of experience within education, mainly in New York, but now in Florida.
Perez has also been an assistant superintendent in the past, as well as taking part as an Executive Board Member for the New York State Association of School Personnel Administrators.
Christopher Ruszkowski
Currently based in South Carolina as CEO of South Carolina’s Children’s Fund, Ruszkowski has moved all over the country, and Florida will be no exception.
According to his LinkedIn, he served as New Mexico’s Secretary of Education back in 2019. Before living in South Carolina, he was a conservator for the Texas Education Agency. A conservator oversees the state’s takeovers of large school districts and charter school networks.
Getting his master’s at Stanford, Ruszkowski was a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institute located within the university.
Rafael Villalobos
Since 2022, Villalobos has been the South Region Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Before that, he was a principal for over ten years.
The Nova Southeastern alum has been in Miami for most of his life, even graduating from South Miami Senior High School in 1990.
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