Armed Bank Robbery Suspect Shot, Killed in Miami Had Escaped From Half-Way House, Police Say
The suspect was identified as 51-year-old David Winesett.
— -- The suspected armed bank robber who was shot dead in Miami Beach, Florida, was allegedly a prisoner who escaped from his "half-way house," police said.
The man killed in Saturday's shooting was 51-year-old David Winesett, who was in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and had been relocated to a prisoner rehabilitation center in Miami -- a "half-way house" for prisoners completing their sentence, Miami Beach Police Department spokeswoman Kathleen Prieto said today.
Winesett was completing a 151-month sentence for bank robberies committed in Florida, Prieto said.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons in Miami could not be immediately reached for comment.
Before Winesett was shot and killed, a "hold up" was reported Saturday morning at a Bank of America in Miami Beach, Prieto said. A 911 caller said the suspect was armed with a bomb and passed a note to the teller, Prieto said
Miami Beach police said today that, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Winesett was considered an escapee from the prisoner rehabilitation center at the time of the attempted robbery.
After the attempted bank robbery, the suspect fled to a barber shop, police said. He at first refused to come out, but then "emerged with a straight edge razor in his hand," Prieto said on Saturday.
"Shots were fired," Prieto said Saturday, and the suspect, today identified as Winesett, was declared dead.
While the Miami Beach Police did not specify who fired the shots, the shooting was caught on a video that appeared to show a police officer firing at the suspect. The video did not capture dialogue between the police and suspect.
Winsett’s previous criminal history "is extensive and difficult to completely reconstruct," the Miami Beach Police said today, but included bank robbery, theft and depositing bad checks. He'd been arrested in Georgia, Nevada and Florida, police said.
The Miami-Dade Police is the lead agency for the officer-involved shooting investigation, said the Miami Beach police. The Miami-Dade Police could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Miami Beach police said Saturday that its police department and the FBI would investigate the bank robbery.