Community in terror as police are shot in South Dade; Details unfold
Sunday, September 16, 2007
The chaos that consumed most of Thursday's shooting in southwest Miami-Dade County is over. Four police officers were shot --- Jody Wright, Christopher Carlin, Tomas Tundidor and Jose Somohano. Of the four, Somohano was fatally wounded. The suspect, Shawn Sherwin LaBeet, eluded police for almost twelve hours before he was confronted in a Pembroke Pines condo pool area. Gunfire was exchanged and Shawn LaBeet was killed.
Shawn Sherwin LaBeet
The horrendous pain experienced by all of the families involved in this tragedy cannot be described. Undoubtedly, Somohano's family is still paralyzed from the murder of their loved one. LaBeet's mother, must cope not only with the loss of her son, but the fact that he was a murderer.
Detectives on Friday arrested Labeet's brother, Shane R. Labeet, 32. They arrested Shawn Labeet's girlfriend, Renee D'Angelo, 26. And they arrested Alba Caridad Bello Denis, 47, Alain Gonzalez, 24, and Lazaro Guardiola, 35. Police later arrested LaBeet relative, Jaleel Torres, whose face shows signs of a struggle. All were charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez took command of the television and told viewers that the suspect, not person of interest, was Kevin Wehner. Such confident talk turned out to be embarrassing for police as they relied on the word of the D'Angelo, the shooter's girlfriend. Not until the real Kevin Wehner turned himself in to police in Jacksonville, where he lives, did Miami-Dade Police realize they were looking for the wrong man --- that was four hours later. Had the real Wehner been in South Florida, his life may have taken a horrible turn also. Unfortunately, he may be forced to always keep documentation proving he was wrongly accused of murder, attempted murder and a number of other charges.
This is the real Kevin Wehner; he is not the shooter.
In a situation that reeked of "all Black people look alike," before admitting the misidentification, the media posted a photo of Shawn LaBeet but said that it was a more current photo of Kevin Wehner. What? The complexion and facial structure of the person in the second photo was clearly not the same person as in the first photo.
Media reports would later indicate that Shawn LaBeet had help, via back streets, in his escape from deep in Southwest Miami to Pembroke Pines some 30 miles away. It was no surprise that Shawn LaBeet was killed. He had killed a police officer and shot three other officers. LaBeet was wearing body armor and used a high-powered assault weapon. There is much more to this story.
Over the next weeks and months we are likely to learn more about Shawn Sherwin LaBeet and the individuals involved in this case. Prayerfully, Officer Jody Wright will regain use of her leg as expeditiously as possible and the Somohano family will be able to cope with their grief as they continue their daily lives.
This incident is yet another reminder of how dangerous our streets are. Thank you to all law enforcement who protect and serve the community.
Rest in Peace
Officer Jose Somohano
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I agree, there is MUCH more to this story about Shawn Labeet. My condolences go to his mother and the family of the fallen cop. It was peculiar that the FIRST description was of a heavy set white male. It is peculiar that no motive has been mentioned for Shawn Labeet to shoot at the cops. This story reminds me of the Larry Davis (Adam Abdul Hakim) story twenty years ago in New York. At the time he was twenty years old when police ambushed him at his sister's Bronx apartment looking for him. The cops and media story was that he was suspected in the murders of four drug dealers. He was a drug dealer too. His side is that he engaged in a shoot out with the NYPD, while shielding his young nieces and nephews from their gunfire because the cops were there to kill him. He had been working for a group of corrupt cops involved in drug trafficing. He escaped the shoot out, wounding six officers. People in the Bronx community assisted Larry Davis (as people assisted Shawn Labeet) in eluding capture for seventeen days because they knew the real story. I wonder what is the REAL story in Shawn Labeet's case??? Larry Davis was acquitted for shooting those cops. The jury ruled it was self-defense. He was also acquitted of killing the drug dealers. He was later convicted of criminal possession of a weapon, and received 5 to 15. Three years later he was also convicted of murdering one of the drug dealers he was originally accused of killing. I wish there was alternative media in South Florida where the public could get the other side of the story, rather than just the police and the media view.
Posted by: ZanySphinx | Monday, September 17, 2007 at 11:41 AM
.....while in police custody Larry Davis was thrown down a stairway after being beaten by cops, resulting in paralysis.
Posted by: ZanySphinx | Monday, September 17, 2007 at 11:50 AM
....Larry Davis used an AK-47 too. How did he get that type of weapon back then????
Posted by: ZanySphinx | Monday, September 17, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Never heard of the Larry Davis story but I'll check it out.
You're right about the independent media. You raise interesting questions.
Someone else told me about the "heavyset white male" description but since I didn't hear it anymore, I didn't think anything of it. That definitely warrants more investigation.
Posted by: VByers | Monday, September 17, 2007 at 09:58 PM