A fifth suspect has been arrested in connection with a Molotov cocktail attack at a Miami-Dade family’s home that left a 16-year-old girl with burns on 45% of her body, authorities confirmed. Daniel Valencia, 37, of Cutler Bay, was arrested Tuesday at Miami International Airport on charges including seven counts of attempted murder, arson, arson conspiracy and shooting or throwing a deadly missile. The arrest stems from the March 25 firebombing that occurred at a home in the 27000 block of Southwest 143rd Place in the county’s Naranja area.
According to an arrest warrant, a family member said he was in his bedroom when he heard breaking glass and what sounded like an explosion before he heard his niece screaming. The victim was driven by her father to Homestead Hospital and then airlifted to HCA Kendall Hospital’s Burn Unit with burns on about 45% of her body. Multiple children including a 2-year-old were in the home at the time but weren’t injured, while a family dog was also injured in the attack.
Authorities have previously arrested four other suspects in connection with the firebombing. Yang Chiong, 36, and Ricardo Alberto Munoz Manriquez, 32, were arrested in December on seven counts of attempted murder and arson charges. Rosita Ashlee Villarreal, 33, and Adrien Perez, 19, both of Homestead, were taken into custody on Thursday on charges of first-degree arson and conspiracy.
Detectives tied Perez to the crime through surveillance video and purchase records connected to the materials used to make the Molotov cocktail. A pink and an orange glass torch mason jar, along with a cigarette lighter, were purchased at a Dollar General store at 22500 SW 112th Ave. around 6:50 p.m. on March 25, a little less than six miles from the victims’ home. Surveillance video captured a man and woman selecting the items and paying with a cellphone using a tap-to-pay feature linked to a Navy Federal Credit Union account.
According to the arrest report, Perez waived his Miranda rights and provided a sworn statement admitting he purchased the jars and lighter at the request of his uncle, later identified as Chiong. Perez told investigators he borrowed Chiong’s GMC pickup truck for what he described as a “double date” and left his white 2015 Kia Forte with his uncle. After buying the items, Perez said he delivered them to Chiong before going to Chili’s Bar and Grill at the Coral Reef location to meet up with friends.
Perez told detectives that days later, Chiong and Villarreal showed him a news clip about the house fire and “bragged” that they were responsible, the report stated. Detectives also said Perez showed them text messages from Chiong sent about a month before the fire that included a photo of the victim’s driver’s license, a Google Maps image of the home and instructions to photograph license plates at the home. Perez’s cellphone was later submitted for forensic examination.
Villarreal told investigators that the day following the attack, Munoz called her and said he and Valencia were responsible for setting the fire at the victims’ home and that he had driven Perez’s vehicle there. The attack was captured by a camera from a nearby home and the footage showed a suspect in dark clothing arrive in a white vehicle and throw a flaming object through the home’s window followed by a “sudden large burst of fire.”
The victim’s cousin told investigators she was in a tumultuous relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Chiong, and the two have a child together. She said Chiong had been arrested for domestic violence in Miami-Dade and has another domestic abuse case in Monroe County, and said she believed the attack on her family happened because he’s upset she wouldn’t drop the criminal charges against him. Inside the house, investigators found pieces of glass from a mason-type jar with a partially burnt wick in the lid, along with a hole in a window.
As of Friday morning, Villarreal and Perez were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where their bond was listed at $5,000 each. A judge ordered them to stay away from all of the victims and the home where the crime occurred. Munoz Manriquez and Chiong remained held without bond, with Munoz Manriquez being held at the Metrowest Detention Center.