FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Earlier in March, a South Florida judge ruled that three Miami-Dade Police (MDP) officers were cleared of any wrongdoing regarding a 2019 fatal shooting of a UPS driver who was apparently caught in the crossfire between police and armed suspects while being held hostage following an armed robbery.
Prosecutors are reportedly already making plans to file an appeal following a ruling delivered by Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra on March 23, with the judge clearing former MDP officers Richard Santiesteban, Leslie Lee, and Rodolfo Mirabal in the 2019 death of 27-year-old UPS driver Frank Ordonez, ruling that Florida’s stand your ground law shields the officers from prosecution.
This is reportedly the second instance where Judge Kollra cited Florida’s stand your ground law in connection to the December 2019 incident, clearing a fourth former officer, Jose Mateo, of wrongdoing in September of 2025.
The incident that resulted in the MDP officers being charged occurred on December 5, 2019, after two armed robbers engaged in a jewelry heist at an area store in Miami-Dade County. Local reports detail how the two armed suspects abducted Ordonez while he was delivering packages in the area, forcing the driver at gunpoint to flee from pursuing authorities.
A 23-mile pursuit of the suspects ensued following Ordonez’s abduction, culminating in a shootout between the suspects and officers at a traffic light near the intersection of Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road. The two suspects were killed during the shootout, as well as Ordonez and another bystander identified as 70-year-old Richard Cutshaw.
Following a years-long investigation into the incident involving the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI, the agencies’ findings were handed over to the Broward State Attorney’s Office, which empaneled a grand jury that returned an indictment against the four officers in June 2024 on manslaughter charges.
Following the judge’s ruling from earlier in March, the Broward State Attorney’s Office issued a statement highlighting their intent to appeal the latest ruling in the matter, while also mentioning that the September 2025 ruling is actively in the appeals process.
“Immunity from prosecution is not the same as a defense presented to a jury from this community,” the statement reads, adding, “It is our belief that Stand Your Ground immunity does not apply in matters involving innocent bystanders, like Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw, who presented no danger to officers. In this incident, two innocent men were killed, and the lives of numerous other innocent bystanders were endangered.”
Prosecutors are reportedly already making plans to file an appeal following a ruling delivered by Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra on March 23, with the judge clearing former MDP officers Richard Santiesteban, Leslie Lee, and Rodolfo Mirabal in the 2019 death of 27-year-old UPS driver Frank Ordonez, ruling that Florida’s stand your ground law shields the officers from prosecution.
This is reportedly the second instance where Judge Kollra cited Florida’s stand your ground law in connection to the December 2019 incident, clearing a fourth former officer, Jose Mateo, of wrongdoing in September of 2025.
The incident that resulted in the MDP officers being charged occurred on December 5, 2019, after two armed robbers engaged in a jewelry heist at an area store in Miami-Dade County. Local reports detail how the two armed suspects abducted Ordonez while he was delivering packages in the area, forcing the driver at gunpoint to flee from pursuing authorities.
A 23-mile pursuit of the suspects ensued following Ordonez’s abduction, culminating in a shootout between the suspects and officers at a traffic light near the intersection of Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road. The two suspects were killed during the shootout, as well as Ordonez and another bystander identified as 70-year-old Richard Cutshaw.
Following a years-long investigation into the incident involving the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI, the agencies’ findings were handed over to the Broward State Attorney’s Office, which empaneled a grand jury that returned an indictment against the four officers in June 2024 on manslaughter charges.
Following the judge’s ruling from earlier in March, the Broward State Attorney’s Office issued a statement highlighting their intent to appeal the latest ruling in the matter, while also mentioning that the September 2025 ruling is actively in the appeals process.
“Immunity from prosecution is not the same as a defense presented to a jury from this community,” the statement reads, adding, “It is our belief that Stand Your Ground immunity does not apply in matters involving innocent bystanders, like Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw, who presented no danger to officers. In this incident, two innocent men were killed, and the lives of numerous other innocent bystanders were endangered.”
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