Nearly five years after 17-year-old Rodney Hinds Jr. was gunned down at a Miami Gardens gas station, police say they have their suspect. On Tuesday, Miami Gardens police announced that 25-year-old Warren Masai Pollock has been charged in the killing. He is facing one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder and is being held in jail without bond, according to authorities.
Detectives Say Fresh Evidence Broke the Case
The Miami Gardens Police Department said Cold Case detectives, working with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, recently developed new evidence that pointed to Pollock and led to an arrest warrant, according to NBC6 South Florida. Investigators secured the warrant while Pollock was already behind bars on an unrelated murder charge, officials said.
The 2019 Shooting
The shooting took place on Oct. 26, 2019, outside a Shell gas station at 840 NW 183rd Street in Miami Gardens. Hinds was sitting in a car when he was shot, the Miami Herald reported when the case first made headlines. Surveillance cameras captured the ambush, but despite the early leads, the trail eventually went cold until detectives circled back to the file.
Linked to a Fort Lauderdale Homicide
Pollock was already on law enforcement’s radar in another county. Last July, Fort Lauderdale police arrested him in connection with a separate case: the 2022 execution-style killing of Steven Black at Tony’s Market. Investigators said ballistic evidence and license-plate data helped tie Pollock and his sister to that shooting, and that Pollock was taken into custody in Georgia after a grand-jury indictment, according to CBS News Miami.
Family Kept Pressure On Investigators
While detectives worked behind the scenes, Hinds’ family kept the case in the public eye. They raised the reward for information to $25,000 and held a news conference alongside their attorneys in hopes of shaking loose new tips, WPLG Local 10 reported. Relatives said they were determined not to let the teen’s killing fade from memory.
Charges and What Comes Next
Pollock now faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the Miami Gardens case, and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is expected to lead the prosecution as it moves through the courts, according to police. Authorities have not released a possible motive or a court date, and anyone with information is urged to contact Miami Gardens police, NBC6 South Florida reported.
