https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article253728768.html
A South Beach tourist was shot to death. Suspect told police he was ‘high on mushrooms.’
A 22-year-old man who shot and killed a Colorado tourist inside a South Beach restaurant says he was “high on mushrooms which made him feel empowered,” according to an arrest report.
Miami Beach police have arrested Tamarius Davis, of Norcross, Georgia, who was charged with second-degree murder with a weapon and attempted murder.
The shooting happened Tuesday evening at La Cerveceria, in the 1400 block of Ocean Drive. Killed was 21-year-old Dustin Wakefield, who was dining with his family in the outdoor patio area at the restaurant. Davis told police he “randomly chose” to shoot Wakefield, and attack another man minutes earlier on the street.
Davis was arrested in an alleyway next door. In a video obtained by the Miami Herald, he can be heard yelling as police officers approach him as he lay on the ground in an alley beside the restaurant. He partially obeys police commands and puts his hands outward, then is forced onto his back and handcuffed by police who say they have the shooter over the radio. A gun lies nearby.
Wakefield’s uncle told the Herald that Dustin Wakefield was vacationing with his family, wife and 1-year-old son.
“This guy came in with a gun waving it, saying it’s time to die. He pointed the gun at his son and Dustin said, ‘He’s only a boy,’” said Mike Wakefield, who was not in South Beach but heard the account from his family. “Dustin stood up between the gunman and the baby and he shot him. He shot him multiple times on the ground.”
Video posted by WSVN FOX-7 showed the man believed to be Davis dancing, while holding the weapon, outside the Ocean Drive restaurant.
Dustin Wakefield worked in the construction industry and loved music and hunting, his uncle said.
“He was the kindest kid. He loved his family. He loved being a dad,” he said.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started for his family.
Davis is also charged with attempted murder for shooting at — and missing — another man on 14th Street moments earlier.
According to the arrest report, a Miami Beach park ranger, Lorenzo Trench, heard the shots and saw Davis chasing the man. Trench told police he saw Davis appearing to fire toward the ground, police said. Another bystander video obtained by the Miami Herald shows Davis striding down a street toward Ocean Drive, next to the entrance of the Winter Haven hotel, aiming and firing at a man who was not hit and ran away.
At the same time, according to Davis’ arrest report, calls were coming in to the police station about an active shooter. Officers found Wakefield, who was mortally wounded, and soon arrested Davis, who waived his right to remain silent and admitted he chose his two victims “randomly,” the report said.
Davis was jailed early Wednesday. He made his first appearance in Miami-Dade bond court on Wednesday, and was ordered held in jail before trial. His defense attorney did not return a phone call from the Herald.
The arrest report incorrectly reported his last name as “David.”
Reached by phone on Wednesday, his father said his son had been visiting South Beach with some friends, and worked in Georgia as a UPS driver. “We’re shocked,” his father said.
The daylight murder on South Beach’s iconic strip shocked Miami Beach, which has grappled with several high-profile tourist deaths and arrests this year. In March, as unruly crowds clashed with Miami Beach police, two vacationers died from the powerful drug fentanyl, allegedly given to them by a North Carolina man also visiting for vacation. One was a Chicago college student, the other a 24-year-old woman from Pennsylvania.
“I’m angry and disgusted by the horrific shooting yesterday of Dustin Wakefield,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told the Miami Herald. “Though it appears it was entirely random, that does not make it any less shocking or provide any solace to his young family.”
The homicide was also the second in two days in Miami-Dade County that may involve a violent mental health episode.
On Monday night, a North Miami-Dade woman — agonizing about COVID and talking about Jesus — submerged her baby in a bathtub in a bizarre “baptism.” The cause of death has been ruled a drowning, and the manner a homicide, the Medical Examiner’s Office said on Wednesday. Charges against the mother, who is also alleged to have stabbed her husband and teen daughter, are pending.