VERO BEACH – Last Sunday night, the day before Rene Herrera Cruz stabbed Connecticut cyclist Kevin Adorno outside McDonald’s on U.S. 1, Cruz borrowed a phone at a nearby Burger King, called police for help and asked them twice to take him to jail “to get him off the streets.”
The 59-year-old homeless man had not at that point broken the law, so police had no basis to arrest him.
Cruz, who is referred to as “Mr. Herrera” in the report, explained to responding officers that he’d arrived in Vero a few days ago from Miami and had been staying in a homeless camp, where someone had flattened the tire of his bicycle and that he didn’t feel safe going back there.
He called for help because he felt threatened by an interaction with some strangers in a car outside a nearby store where he had gone to ask directions to a homeless shelter.
“Mr. Herrera stated as he walked away from the store, an unknown make vehicle pulled up beside him and opened the passenger side door. Mr. Herrera stated he noticed a black male crouched down in the back seat and the young black male from the store walking up behind him.
“Mr. Herrera stated he got a bad feeling, thinking he was going to be killed or robbed, and hastily headed for Burger King where he called the police,” The report says.
After spending nearly 30 minutes with Cruz at Burger King, Cpl. Oscar Dominguez, the 20-year police officer dispatched to the scene to speak with Cruz in Spanish, did not indicate specifically that Cruz seemed to be mentally unstable, beyond the statements about Cruz being afraid for his safety, suspicious of strangers wanting to hurt him, and searching for a place to stay.
Dominguez offered to buy Cruz a meal, but Cruz declined. When Cruz asked to be driven to a nearby bus station, Dominguez explained that the bus station Cruz was referring to was no longer operating. Twice Cruz asked Dominguez to take him to jail.
Police discussed some options with Cruz about getting services and whether or not The Source homeless center would be open on the Labor Day holiday. Dominguez, who was one of three officers on the call, suggested two places that were still open where Cruz could go until he had a plan for the night.
One of those places was the Flamingo Laundry on U.S. 1 and the other, ironically, was the McDonald’s across the street where, the next night, Cruz apparently felt somehow threatened by 28-year-old Adorno talking on his cell phone, so he stabbed him twice with a 12-inch knife, killing him.
So the three officers on the call — one four-year officer, one 20-year officer who directly translated for the Spanish-speaking Cruz and a brand-new officer in field training under the veteran Dominguez, left Cruz on the scene.
No crime had been committed, so no charges were filed and no arrest was made.
On Friday, when asked how a determination was made whether or not Cruz should have been flagged for possibly being taken in for observation according to Florida’s Baker Act, Vero Beach Police Capt. Kevin Martin said he’d spoken to Cruz after he was taken into custody following the stabbing and described the man as “very rational” and able to make cohesive statements.
Martin also described Cruz as being small in stature.
The Baker Act, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families, requires three things: that a person appear to have a mental illness, that he presents a danger to himself or others and that he refuses voluntary treatment or is unable to understand the need for treatment.
Cruz is being held at the Indian River County Jail with no bond on a charge of first-degree murder, with an arraignment set for 9 a.m. Oct. 6 before Judge Robert Pegg. According to court records, an interpreter assisted with his first appearance on Wednesday. He has been assigned a public defender on the basis of his indigent status.
