DAVENPORT, Fla. – UPDATE: All charges against Rafael Cruceta-Pimentel, including conspiracy to sell, manufacture or deliver cannabis, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, sale of cannabis, attempted robbery, second-degree felony murder, tampering with physical evidence, false information to law enforcement during an investigation, possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia, have been dropped.
A motion to suppress was granted by a circuit judge, who said Cruceta-Pimentel was never given a Miranda warning.
The attorney for Cruceta-Pimentel released a statement, saying his client was “unjustly arrested.”
Mr. Robert Cruceta-Pimentel, a father of three and former NY Yankees prospect, has authorized his Attorney & Counselor Mr. Ralph Maiolino III, Esq., a former prosecutor, to release this statement celebrating the dismissal of the baseless Murder case he was unjustly arrested and charged with:
After fighting an entire year, Mr. Cruceta-Pimentel’s name has been cleared & his character exonerated after the State quietly dropped all charges on 12/06/2024—merely 3 days before his scheduled Trial.
Once exposed to the scrutiny of the court system, the State’s case against Mr. Cruceta-Pimentel swiftly collapsed. In fact, PCSO’s allegations were so utterly unhinged, only someone as self-important as the charlatan & loudmouth bully Sheriff Grady Judd could have invented them. Any baseless accusations previously made by the Polk County Sheriff in this matter have now been exposed to be nothing more than a vicious, farcical pack of lies.
The State’s case hinged on the bizarre theory that Mr. Cruceta-Pimentel somehow masterminded a robbery-turned-murder scheme with a man who was located 3 full football fields away and violently high on cocaine. It was alleged this man had crept 300 yards through the darkness, navigated a major roadway, and ambushed Mr. Cruceta-Pimentel and the other victim in their car as if he were a member of Seal Team 6. Deputies concocted this farce despite Mr. Cruceta-Pimentel being the only person on scene who did not have either firearm nor a facsimile of a firearm, and the sole person there who did not commit a single act of violence.
This outlandish fantasy quickly unraveled because the State’s critical evidence was based entirely on 2 false, underhanded, & coerced “confessions” obtained by PCSO in flagrant violation of Mr. Cruceta-Pimentel’s 5th amendment rights. These “confessions”, once challenged, were immediately thrown out of Court by the Judge, due to PCSO’s illegal tactics and total disregard for his constitutional rights.
Truth has won & Justice has finally prevailed in this case. Now Mr. Cruceta-Pimentel, after having battled through the longest 9-innings of his career, can finally return to his wife and 3 young sons as a free man, as an innocent man, as an exonerated man, and as a victorious man.
ORIGINAL STORY:
One man is dead and another is locked up after a plan to commit a robbery during a drug deal ended in gunfire, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced during a news conference Wednesday.
During the conference, Judd said the victim in this case — Christian MacDonald, 44 — called Robert Cruceta-Pimentel to buy marijuana late Tuesday night.
The pair met up at the Tropicana Resort Motel along U.S. Highway 27, with MacDonald entering the passenger-side front door of the Cruceta-Pimentel’s vehicle, Judd explained.
“They often do business together. Robert is also an Uber driver,” Judd stated. “So he drives to the motel... and he meets with MacDonald, who drives his vehicle there.”
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Unknown to MacDonald, Cruceta-Pimentel had brought another man named Harold Cruz, 33, to a convenience store close by, Judd said.
While MacDonald and Cruceta-Pimentel were negotiating the drug deal, Cruz got into the back seat of the car and began demanding drugs and money, threatening to kill them both if they didn’t comply, Judd explained.
According to Judd, Cruz started hitting MacDonald with an apparent firearm, which later turned out to be a fake gun made from a screwdriver and a piece of wood.
However, MacDonald pulled out a handgun he had been concealed carrying and shot into the back seat, killing Cruz, Judd said.
“This guy’s really good. He shot 10 times, hitting Harold Cruz — well, we’ve counted 12 holes, some of them can be entrances and exits...” Judd said. “One of the 12 shots hits Cruz dead in the center of the forehead.”
Both MacDonald and Cruceta-Pimentel got out of the car and began making up a story to tell investigators, with Cruceta-Pimentel throwing the marijuana, Cruz’s belongings and the fake firearm over a fence near the motel, Judd said.
Despite that, investigators said they later found the items and eventually figured out what happened.
Detectives added that Cruceta-Pimentel had been friends with Cruz, with both of the men planning out the attempted robbery.
“This is another example of how dangerous illegal drug transactions can be,” Judd said. “The drug dealer conspired with his friend to commit a robbery that resulted in his friend’s death. Now, the drug dealer is going to prison. How did that work out for him?”
Cruceta-Pimentel faces charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, providing false information to law enforcement, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, maintaining a vehicle for drug sales, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and varied drugs charges. He is held on no bond.
Meanwhile, MacDonald was determined to be the victim of the robbery and is not facing charges in the shooting.
“Christian, from the early stages of the investigation, appears to be a victim and has been released to go home,” Judd said.
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