On an August evening, Alex Vega almost died of three rounds of wounds after a hitman ambushed him as he pulled him into the Kendale Lakes Driveway on the Black Range Rover.
Creating his name to customize luxury cars for sports and music celebrities, Vega told police investigators he believes his former business partner, Rolando “Roly” Ramirez is behind the 2019 attack.
At the start of Ramirez’s murder crime conspiracy trial in Miami federal court, prosecutors told ju judges Wednesday that there had been a fierce feud between the two men over a decade after the money that led to the lawsuit and settlement and the clients dropped out.
However, the ceasefire did not last long.
US lawyer Abby Waxman said Ramirez repeatedly threatened Vega with the words “soon.” In her opening statement, she told the ju umpire that Ramirez plotted to kill Vega along with her best friend in Miami and a marijuana dealer in New York, and that in return for the hits would include eliminating drug debt.
Ramirez’s defense attorney retorted that the prosecutor’s case was “mistake.”
“Rory Ramirez was arrested for not doing this,” lawyer Eric Schwarzreich told 12 ju judges. “He had no motivation to do this.”
He claimed that Vega initially told police that not only Ramirez but nine people were having problems with him and could have been involved in his life’s attempts. “The government has twisted this incident,” he said.
Ramirez, the former owner of Doral’s exclusive motoring Worldwide, faces trial with his best friend Rashid “Fresh” Ali, 38.
Both have been charged with conspiracy, murder of employment, solicitation to commit violent crimes, interstate stalking, firearms crimes and tampering with eyewitnesses. If convicted, each of them will come to life in prison.
The third defendant is Ali’s friend Tamrat “Shift” Mason, a California music producer and recording artist. He is only charged with tampering with witnesses.
Before the trial, US District Judge Roy Altman dismissed obstruction of judicial charges against all three due to lack of evidence.
At the start of the trial Wednesday, Ali’s defense attorney Richard Merlino chose not to issue an opening statement.
Mason’s defense attorney, Dustin Tishler, questioned why Mason was indicted in the case and said he voluntarily spoke with the FBI for hours during the investigation.
“Why would he tamper with something that has nothing to do with?” Tishler told the ju judge. “It’s a totally innocent behavior.”
The indictment accused Ramirez and Ali of recruiting two men to carry out a hit with Vega. Juli Anzimenez, the son of Jaime Serrano, a New York Marijuana dealer, and a sound engineer who worked for pop star Mark Anthony, one of Vega’s clients.
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According to court records, Serrano and Jimenez flew from New York to Miami on an American Airlines flight on August 21, 2019, and rented a blue Nissan Rogue and a stalker Vega.
Six days later, on the evening of August 27th, Serrano drove Jimenez at Nissan to his house on Lake Kendale in Vega.
8 shots fired at Kendale Lakes Driveway
According to a statement filed in the plea agreement in Zimenez, he wore a surgical mask and gloves, carrying the gun Serrano gave him after his arrival in Miami, carped him towards Vega and began shooting. He fired eight shots, including three that attacked Vega.
Witnesses told FBI agents that the man was offered $60,000 to carry out the hit, but that has never been confirmed, Jimenez’s lawyer, federal public defense attorney Abigail Becker, said in the ruling.
Jimenez pleaded guilty to his side in an attempted murder and was sentenced to 35 years by Judge Altman. He is the son of Marcos Jimenez – court documents show Anthony’s sound engineer and occasional real estate manager
Convicted in a trial for shooting and arranging a trip from New York to South Florida, Serrano was sentenced to 50 years by Altman.
The ju umpire decided that Serrano was not a shooter, but played a key role in planning the business, including purchasing flight tickets from New York to Miami, renting cars in Florida, and obtaining the .40 caliber handgun that Jimenez used to shoot Vega. Serrano was also an escape driver.
Both Serrano and Jimenez are trying to cut time from their long prison term, but are expected to testify to the prosecution at Ramirez, Ali and Mason’s trials.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Waxman told the ju judge that Serrano had dealt with Marijuana and owed him the money. She said it was Ramirez’s idea to run a hit with Vega and have Serrano pay off the debts to his friend Ali.
Ramirez’s plan was to “kill Alex Vega in exchange for eliminating Serrano’s drug debt.”
Waxman also told the ju umpire that Ramirez and Ali were not held in the federal lockup in Miami, but they planned to kill Serrano as they testify against them. She also said that Mason would not testify against Ramirez and Ali as he paid “hash money” to Serrano while in custody.
However, on Wednesday, Ramirez’s lawyers attacked Serrano’s credibility. “Serrano is a witness to their star, but you won’t be able to believe the word he says,” Schwarzreich told the ju judge.
Clients included Marc Anthony and Usain Bolt
Vega, the owner of the car company, will also testify. His Kendall Business has designed sports car renovations for many celebrities, including Grammy-winning singer Anthony, rapper Rick Ross and Jamaican Olympic gold medal sprinter Usain Bolt. Vega was also featured in the 2017 reality TV series called “Automobile Company with Alex Vega.”
FBI special agent Ryan Dreibelbis will also testify. At a detention hearing last year, he said that although there may be several suspects in Vega’s shooting, Ramirez is the only person associated with escape driver Serrano.
Agents told the FBI that “Ramirez hated the victim and called the victim a nasty name,” and after the shooting, Ramirez said he “talked about Vega’s client getting a glove.”
