nevadamedic
08-12-2007, 07:53 AM
Florida Sergeant Shot And Killed
Surveillance image of the car Sgt. Reyka's killer may have been driving.
View LargerOne of south Florida's most massive manhunts is underway. Hundreds of patrol units and experienced ranking deputies are searching for the man responsible for the murder of a veteran deputy and a father of four children, Sgt. Chris Reyka, 51.
It's the second shooting of a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy in a week. Sheriff Ken Jenne said, "It's the most tragic week and most tragic summer Broward County has ever seen."
Sgt. Reyka was on a routine patrol in Pompano Beach early in the morning on August 10, 2007 when he pulled into a parking lot behind a 24-hour Walgreens. He drove his marked Broward Sheriff's Office cruiser next to two suspicious vehicles while running tags and looking for stolen vehicles. In April, Sgt. Reyka had been named Deputy of the month for doing just that, running down suspicious vehicles and closing unsolved cases as a result of his work.
It appears that as Sgt. Reyka got out of his cruiser, someone immediately got out of one of the two cars and immediately opened fire. Ten shots fired in rapid succession from a 9 mm were fired at Sgt. Reyka. Five of those shots struck the deputy killing him.
Customers at the Walgreens heard the shots, found Reyka, and called 9-1-1. Officers responding to the scene canvassed area residences and businesses for blues. They found surveillance video from the Isle of Capris casino nearby the Walgreens. At 1:22 a.m. on the video is a white, full sized American car with tinted windows with a Florida license plate of F16 8Uj. The car is heading north on Powerline Road, heading away from the scene of the crime.
The scene surrounding the murder of Sgt. Reyka is similar and all too familiar to one earlier in the week. At noon on Monday, August 6, BSO Deputy Maury Hernandez, 28, was shot in the head after pulling over a man on a motorcycle in Hollywood, just south of Fort Lauderdale. He was shot in broad daylight and remains hospitalized fighting for his life in critical condition.
Police say the motorcycle had fled through a series of red lights, and Deputy Hernandez, who was heading to an undercover operation, pulled him over. The motorcyclist got off his bike, ran, then turned to shoot the deputy. Herenandez radioed into dispatch and shouted, "He's got a gun on him...gun on him." Then, dispatch heard, "Officer down."
Quickly police zeroed in on the motorcyclist, David Maldonado, 23, who had fled the scene on foot. Investigators learned that Maldonado, a carpenter, had a long rap sheet including drugs, guns and a revoked license.
Deputies found Maldonado and arrested him on charges of attempted first degree murder and violation of probation. During a search of his Miramar home, police found targets from shooting practice lining his walls. Sheriff Jenne said it was "chilling" to find the targets with clusters of bullet holes to the head.
Inside the Investigation
"We're at war. We'll get you. We'll find you," said a visibly shaken Sheriff Jenne during a news conference. And he has lived up to his word, dedicating hundreds of deputies to find Sgt. Reyka's killer or killers.
The investigation centers around a command post, located inside the Pompano BSO district office, where experienced deputies are calling the shots. One deputy close to the investigation said, "This is disturbing to work with so little. We are scouring streets for a white full sized car, probably a Crown Vic, but we're not sure." The deputy went on to say, "We don't know if our suspects are white or black, male or female, two or four. We just don't know."
Investigators learned the tags on the white car were stolen from a plumbing company van that no one noticed missing. So, deputies have even less to go on with that dead end.
With flags at half-mast, and black bands on their badges, deputies are putting their emotions for the officers aside and putting their energies into working the case. "This week we had two good, decent human beings gunned down," said Sheriff Jenne. "This gun violence which we are seeing across the nation is symbolic. If someone has the audacity to strike down an officer what does that say about the average person."
Sheriff Jenne remains confident that it is the public who will solve this case. "We're not going to allow these thugs to take our streets. Now is the time for the public to help us stop these thugs and bring law and order to our streets."
BSO Spokesperson Elliot Cohen reminded everyone that "No tip is too small. It may not seem important to you, but to us, it may be the most important clue."
A recap: Police are looking for a suspect or suspects driving a white full sized American car, possibly a Crown Victoria, but not ruling out other makes and models. The car has tinted windows and a stolen Florida tag of F16-8UJ. The car was last seen in the early morning hours of Pompano Beach on Friday, August 10th.
If you have any information call 1-800-CRIME-TV.
If interested in supporting the deputies families, funds have been established: The Deputy Maury Hernandez Fund and The Sgt Chris Reyka Education Fund. Checks can be sent to:
The Sheriff's Foundation of Broward County, 2601 West Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=47637
Surveillance image of the car Sgt. Reyka's killer may have been driving.
View LargerOne of south Florida's most massive manhunts is underway. Hundreds of patrol units and experienced ranking deputies are searching for the man responsible for the murder of a veteran deputy and a father of four children, Sgt. Chris Reyka, 51.
It's the second shooting of a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy in a week. Sheriff Ken Jenne said, "It's the most tragic week and most tragic summer Broward County has ever seen."
Sgt. Reyka was on a routine patrol in Pompano Beach early in the morning on August 10, 2007 when he pulled into a parking lot behind a 24-hour Walgreens. He drove his marked Broward Sheriff's Office cruiser next to two suspicious vehicles while running tags and looking for stolen vehicles. In April, Sgt. Reyka had been named Deputy of the month for doing just that, running down suspicious vehicles and closing unsolved cases as a result of his work.
It appears that as Sgt. Reyka got out of his cruiser, someone immediately got out of one of the two cars and immediately opened fire. Ten shots fired in rapid succession from a 9 mm were fired at Sgt. Reyka. Five of those shots struck the deputy killing him.
Customers at the Walgreens heard the shots, found Reyka, and called 9-1-1. Officers responding to the scene canvassed area residences and businesses for blues. They found surveillance video from the Isle of Capris casino nearby the Walgreens. At 1:22 a.m. on the video is a white, full sized American car with tinted windows with a Florida license plate of F16 8Uj. The car is heading north on Powerline Road, heading away from the scene of the crime.
The scene surrounding the murder of Sgt. Reyka is similar and all too familiar to one earlier in the week. At noon on Monday, August 6, BSO Deputy Maury Hernandez, 28, was shot in the head after pulling over a man on a motorcycle in Hollywood, just south of Fort Lauderdale. He was shot in broad daylight and remains hospitalized fighting for his life in critical condition.
Police say the motorcycle had fled through a series of red lights, and Deputy Hernandez, who was heading to an undercover operation, pulled him over. The motorcyclist got off his bike, ran, then turned to shoot the deputy. Herenandez radioed into dispatch and shouted, "He's got a gun on him...gun on him." Then, dispatch heard, "Officer down."
Quickly police zeroed in on the motorcyclist, David Maldonado, 23, who had fled the scene on foot. Investigators learned that Maldonado, a carpenter, had a long rap sheet including drugs, guns and a revoked license.
Deputies found Maldonado and arrested him on charges of attempted first degree murder and violation of probation. During a search of his Miramar home, police found targets from shooting practice lining his walls. Sheriff Jenne said it was "chilling" to find the targets with clusters of bullet holes to the head.
Inside the Investigation
"We're at war. We'll get you. We'll find you," said a visibly shaken Sheriff Jenne during a news conference. And he has lived up to his word, dedicating hundreds of deputies to find Sgt. Reyka's killer or killers.
The investigation centers around a command post, located inside the Pompano BSO district office, where experienced deputies are calling the shots. One deputy close to the investigation said, "This is disturbing to work with so little. We are scouring streets for a white full sized car, probably a Crown Vic, but we're not sure." The deputy went on to say, "We don't know if our suspects are white or black, male or female, two or four. We just don't know."
Investigators learned the tags on the white car were stolen from a plumbing company van that no one noticed missing. So, deputies have even less to go on with that dead end.
With flags at half-mast, and black bands on their badges, deputies are putting their emotions for the officers aside and putting their energies into working the case. "This week we had two good, decent human beings gunned down," said Sheriff Jenne. "This gun violence which we are seeing across the nation is symbolic. If someone has the audacity to strike down an officer what does that say about the average person."
Sheriff Jenne remains confident that it is the public who will solve this case. "We're not going to allow these thugs to take our streets. Now is the time for the public to help us stop these thugs and bring law and order to our streets."
BSO Spokesperson Elliot Cohen reminded everyone that "No tip is too small. It may not seem important to you, but to us, it may be the most important clue."
A recap: Police are looking for a suspect or suspects driving a white full sized American car, possibly a Crown Victoria, but not ruling out other makes and models. The car has tinted windows and a stolen Florida tag of F16-8UJ. The car was last seen in the early morning hours of Pompano Beach on Friday, August 10th.
If you have any information call 1-800-CRIME-TV.
If interested in supporting the deputies families, funds have been established: The Deputy Maury Hernandez Fund and The Sgt Chris Reyka Education Fund. Checks can be sent to:
The Sheriff's Foundation of Broward County, 2601 West Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=47637