MIAMI, FLORIDA – A Miami-Dade police officer on vacation in Puerto Rico was shot and killed Thursday morning, as was his sister who was with him, authorities said.
Juan Aviles Otero, 34, a Miami-Dade police officer since 2006, and his sister, Jasmin Plaza Otero, 21, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds about 3:10 a.m. in the Puerto Rican town of Villalba, according to Agent Angel Feliciano-Torres, director of homicide investigations for the municipality of Ponce, which includes Villalba.
“When the forensics team arrived at the scene, they verified that on the body of Juan Aviles they found three little bags with white powder,” Feliciano-Torres said. Investigators did not immediately determine what the powder was but the substance will be analyzed, he added.
Such “little baggies” are often used to distribute drugs, Feliciano-Torres said.
The two victims were driving a rental car from San Juan, about an hour away from where the bodies were found. Aviles was found inside the car and his sister was found dead just outside the car door.
The bodies were transferred to the medical examiner, Feliciano-Torres said.
Miami police confirmed the slaying of the officer, with police Director James K. Loftus saying in a statement that Aviles “was murdered in the early hours … from apparent gun shot wounds in Villalba, Puerto Rico.”
CNN Miami affiliate WSVN reported that Aviles’ wife, also a police officer, recently gave birth to twins.
