The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said Friday that three City of Miami police officers will not face criminal charges in a June 2025 shooting outside a Wynwood nightclub. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle concluded that Sgt. José Cabrera, Sgt. Javier Herbello and Officer Dorian Acosta were legally justified in using deadly force.
The shooting killed Norman Lindo Jr., 30, the armed man, and Evelyn Valdes, 28, a bystander who was celebrating her birthday in a vehicle stopped in traffic in front of the club. Nightclub manager John Fortini was hit in the left hand and treated at a hospital.
According to the final investigative report, two officers were in uniform near Electric 23 Wynwood at about 3 a.m., looking into a pickpocketing complaint, when an unrelated argument turned violent near the club’s exit. Video and witness statements showed Lindo drawing a handgun. Officers repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon, prosecutors said, and when he kept advancing, three officers fired.
Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement matched the fatal bullet recovered from Valdes to Acosta’s service weapon. Prosecutors said the officers acted within Florida’s Stand Your Ground law because Lindo was brandishing a gun in a crowded public area.
Valdes’s family, which has filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Miami and others, said it was disappointed. Their attorney, Ramon Rasco, said the family had not yet received the investigative files.
For South Florida residents, the decision closes the criminal review of a shooting that unfolded on a busy nightlife street and raised questions about gunfire in crowded areas.
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