Testimony has wrapped in a high-stakes Stand Your Ground hearing that could decide whether three former Miami-Dade police officers ever face a jury over a chaotic 2019 chase that ended in gunfire on a Miramar street. Rodolfo Mirabal, Richard Santiesteban and Leslie Lee are asking a Broward County judge to grant them immunity from manslaughter charges tied to the shootout that killed UPS driver Frank Ordonez and motorist Richard Cutshaw. The judge's ruling will either send the case to trial or shut it down entirely, giving the officers the same legal shield another cop secured in September 2025.
Hearing Closes After Officer's Testimony
Leslie Lee was the last of the three to take the stand, walking the court through the frantic moments of the shootout. Under oath, he acknowledged that he initially lied to Miramar police about whether he fired his weapon before later changing his account and saying he did pull the trigger. The weeklong hearing ended Wednesday, with both sides now expected to submit written closing arguments by the end of the month, according to WSVN.
The 2019 Chase And Shootout
The case traces back to December 5, 2019, when a jewelry-store robbery in Coral Gables spiraled into a cross-county chase after two suspects hijacked a UPS truck. The pursuit came to a stop at Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road, where the two suspects, the delivery driver and a bystander were all killed, according to AP News. Investigators and media coverage have said officers unleashed more than 200 rounds in a matter of seconds during the confrontation, a detail highlighted by NBC 6 South Florida.
Evidence Presented
During the hearing, prosecutors replayed helicopter, surveillance and cellphone video, using FBI and forensic experts to walk the judge through spent cartridges, firearms evidence and autopsy materials. Body-worn camera footage and detailed forensic testimony about injuries and scene reconstruction formed the backbone of the state’s case, as reported by Local 10.
Legal Stakes
If the judge rules that the officers are entitled to Stand Your Ground immunity, the manslaughter counts against them will be dismissed and there will be no jury trial. If not, the prosecutions move forward. The four officers were indicted in June 2024 after investigators said bullets recovered in autopsies and at the scene matched weapons carried by some officers, and one co-defendant, Officer Jose Mateo, had his manslaughter charge dismissed in September 2025. The Broward State Attorney’s Office has appealed that ruling, according to AP News.
What’s Next
With testimony complete, attorneys will submit written closing briefs, and the judge will decide whether the officers had a reasonable fear that justified using deadly force. The decision will put Florida’s Stand Your Ground law under a microscope in the context of on-duty police shootings and could signal how much weight the earlier immunity ruling for Mateo will carry in the remaining cases, as outlined by WSVN.
