By james art A Hialeah man who was taken into custody in New York is believed to be responsible for the fatal shooting of Cuban reggaeton star El Tiger in Miami earlier this month, the city’s police chief said.
Damian Valdez-Galoso, 49, was taken into custody in New York on Tuesday by Miami police working with the NYPD and the U.S. Marshals Service, Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales told reporters.
He is being held on an out-of-state extradition warrant for violations related to failure to register as a sex offender, but police are working with the Miami-Dade District Attorney’s Office to charge him in the El Tiger shooting, Morales said.
Police announced earlier this month that Valdez-Galoso was wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting of the singer.
El Tiger, 37, whose real name is Jose Manuel Carbajal Zaldivar, was found unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound in the back of an SUV near Northwest 9th Avenue and 17th Street on Oct. 3.
He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in extremely critical condition and died from his injuries days later on October 10.
Miami Police
Morales said the singer is believed to have been fatally shot by Valdez-Galoso at Valdez-Galoso’s home in Hialeah, and Hialeah police are involved in the investigation.
“I know there’s been a lot of speculation that El Tiger may have been tortured before, I mean it’s a horrific crime and his life was taken unlawfully, but there’s no evidence to show that he was tortured in some way before he was killed,” Morales said.
No other suspects are being sought in the shooting, Morales said.
Records show Valdez-Galoso has a criminal record and is a registered sex offender after having sex with a minor. He also served time in prison for false imprisonment and was arrested three years ago for grand theft in Broward.