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Victim speaks out about contractor accused of exploiting the elderly

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Victim speaks out about contractor accused of exploiting the elderly


MIAMI – A 72-year-old Southwest Miami-Dade man is speaking out after a contractor is busted for exploiting the elderly and taking $14,000 from him and two other victims.

Miami-Dade Police say the work was never done and say the suspect in this case has confessed that there are 9 other victims as well. Police say many of those who have been targeted are elderly.

They say 61-year-old Omar Ramiro Lopez of Palmetto Bay entered into contracts with multiple elderly victims to install outdoor fencing and claimed he was a licensed contractor with his company Horizon Structural Developers and failed to do the work and refund money to his victims and did not return their texts or phone calls.

Miami-Dade Police Detective Geordi Estepan said, “He’s pretending to be a licensed contractor when he really isn’t. He is targeting elderly victims. He is promising to do fences and takes deposits and does not do the work. He has confessed that there are 9 more victims. That is a lot of people and we believe there are even more out there.”

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Lopez faces charges including an organized scheme to defraud, theft from the elderly, 3rd-degree grand theft and exploitation of the elderly.

Brian Domineck, 72, told CBS News MIami’s Peter D’Oench that he gave Lopez a $6200 deposit through 2 checks for a 300-foot chain-link fence to be built at his Southwest Miami-Dade home for $10,432 and no work was done and he has lost all of his money.

Domineck, an Air Force veteran of 11 years who retired after spending 35 years with Miami-Dade Public Schools, said he is discouraged and does not know if he will ever be able to have that chain link fence built.

Domineck said, “I paid him $6200 and checked him out online and saw he had 5 stars. When he first got to my house in May, he was talking like he was the best and would take care of everything. He had quite a scam going. He even talked to us about his family and his church. But he never did any work. He came out and did measurements and that was it. It all started in May. I even went to where his company was supposed to be. I called him and he didn’t return calls.”

Domineck said, “I feel bad. I really feel bad. It is like he used me. I really can’t afford to give away $6200. I think he really took advantage of us. I am retired. I am retired for 6 years. I wanted to do something to make a better home. Let us do that. Don’t take our money.”

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Authorities urge you to check out a company’s reviews and reputation online and check sources like Florida Sun Biz.

Domineck said, “I tried my best to check up on him and I thought I did everything. I thought he was the man for the job and it just goes to show you that you never can tell.”

MIami-Dade Police believe there are other victims.

If you are one of them, contact their Economic Crimes Unit at (305) 994-1000.

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Miami, FL

London woman arrested at Miami airport with 130 pounds of marijuana hidden in suitcases, authorities say

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London woman arrested at Miami airport with 130 pounds of marijuana hidden in suitcases, authorities say



A London‑bound passenger was arrested Monday at Miami International Airport after federal officers found more than 130 pounds of vacuum‑sealed marijuana – 60 bundles in all – packed into two suitcases, authorities said.

Begum Mulazimoglu, 22, of London, is facing a first‑degree felony charge of trafficking in cannabis after she was taken into custody before boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow Airport, according to an arrest affidavit. Mulazimoglu appeared before a judge on Tuesday.

Suitcases flagged during outbound check

Begum Mulazimoglu, 22.

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Miami-Dade Corrections


The Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer flagged two hardsided suitcases during an outbound inspection after detecting a strong odor of marijuana.

According to authorities, Mulazimoglu claimed ownership of the bags and had about $1,000 worth of U.S. and British currency – $330 in U.S. dollars and £530 in British pounds (about $713 USD) – in her possession.

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Affidavit details marijuana discovery

An arrest affidavit said Homeland Security Investigations notified the Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office after the passenger was detained with the two marijuana-stuffed suitcases at the airport.

An X‑ray scan revealed 60 bundles, 30 in each suitcase, weighing a combined 59.74 kilograms (131.7 pounds), along with two Apple AirTags hidden inside, the affidavit said. The bundles were sealed in black nylon vacuum‑packed bags.

Federal prosecution declined

An Assistant United States Attorney declined federal prosecution, according to the affidavit. 

The Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office was notified, and Mulazimoglu was provided a meal before being taken into custody and transported to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

The property was impounded at Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office headquarters.

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Russian air attack on Ukraine kills three and sparks sweeping outages

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Russian air attack on Ukraine kills three and sparks sweeping outages


  • Broad Russian attack follows Miami peace talks
  • Ukraine says western regions hit hardest
  • At least three killed, including child, Kyiv says
  • Poland scrambles jets

KYIV, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least three Ukrainians including a child on Tuesday, triggering widespread emergency power cuts and prompting neighbouring Poland to scramble jets.

The attacks, days after another round of U.S.-led talks to end the nearly four-year-old war, hit energy facilities in western regions the hardest, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

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Poland, a NATO member bordering western Ukraine, said Polish and allied aircraft were deployed to protect Polish airspace after Russian strikes targeted areas near the border.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had targeted at least 13 regions as Ukrainians prepared to celebrate Christmas with their families in an attack that showed Russian President Vladimir Putin was not serious about peace talks.

“Putin still cannot accept that he must stop killing,” Zelenskiy wrote on X. “And that means that the world is not putting enough pressure on Russia. Now is the time to respond.”

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YOUNG CHILD KILLED

A four-year-old child was killed in the central Zhytomyr region, another person in Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine and a third person outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where local officials said at least five were also wounded.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had attacked Ukrainian energy and military facilities and captured two villages along the front line in Ukraine. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv, which often disputes Russian reports of territorial gains.

Moscow has stepped up strikes on Ukrainian energy and logistics to boost pressure on Kyiv as it seeks to alter the terms of a U.S.-backed peace deal. Ukraine has targeted Russian energy exports.

A Ukrainian overnight drone attack sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Russia’s southern Stavropol region, the region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, said. Authorities also reported a fire at the fuel oil supply pipeline at the port of Taman in Krasnodar region, saying it had been put out.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 635 drones and 38 missiles, most of which had been downed.

Ukraine’s energy ministry said all regions were experiencing emergency power outages, adding that nearly all consumers in the western Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi regions were without power early on Tuesday.

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Critical and energy infrastructure was damaged in the northern Chernihiv, western Lviv and southern Odesa regions, local authorities said. Private energy firm DTEK said one of its thermal power plants had suffered damage.

Weekend peace talks in Miami brought together U.S. officials with Ukrainian and European delegations, alongside separate contacts with Russian representatives, as Washington tested the scope for a settlement.

Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede its eastern Donbas region and significantly restrict its military capabilities before it stops fighting, terms which Zelenskiy has rejected.

Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Dan Peleschuk; Writing by Lidia Kelly and Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Michael Perry, Philippa Fletcher

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab



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Body camera footage shows fatal police shooting in Miami

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Body camera footage shows fatal police shooting in Miami


Authorities release body camera footage from fatal Miami police shooting

MIAMI — Newly released body camera footage from a 2024 deadly police shooting shows the moment officers pulled the trigger.

It happened on June 25 of last year in a home off Northeast 25th Street in Miami.

According to Miami police, a man called 911 to report his roommate, a woman identified as Mariel Rivera Samuel, was charging him with a kitchen knife.

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The man says the two don’t know one another but were renting rooms through AirBnb at the home.

When officers spoke to Samuel, she said her roommate tampered with her drink, implying that he urinated in her apple juice, according to the footage.

Officers said they were going to take Samuel to a mental health facility for a Baker Act, but she came at them with a knife.

A State Attorney’s Office close out memo said, “Rivera-Samuel came within inches of stabbing or cutting Officer Burgos.”

Police say it was then they were forced to fire.

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“According to that close out memo, the State Attorney’s Office determined the shooting was legally justified,” said Miami Police Chief Manny Morales.

The SAO said the case is officially closed.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.

Bridgette Matter

Bridgette Matter joined the Local 10 News team as a reporter in July 2021. Before moving to South Florida, she began her career in South Bend, Indiana and spent six years in Jacksonville as a reporter and weekend anchor.

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