Gold-chain robbery and murder caught on video. Killer is going to prison for life

A Miami man is going to prison for life, eight years after he shot and and killed a retiree in Hialeah in a gold-chain robbery caught on surveillance video.

Jurors late Thursday convicted Errol Latson of the murder of 77-year-old Armando Alcala in February 2010.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Sue Venzer immediately sentenced Latson, 29, to life in prison, the mandatory term for first-degree murder.

At trial, prosecutors said that Latson and another man, Liugans Wilson, attacked the retiree in broad daylight as he was taking out the trash at an apartment building in the 1200 block of West 35th Street.

They stole Alcala's gold chain, shot him and drove off in a red 1991 Oldsmobile Intrigue. Police officers caught up with the men later, finding the gold chain and a gun in the car.

At trial, jurors heard that Latson confessed and even pointed himself out on the surveillance video.

Latson testified in his own defense, claiming police detectives beat him into confessing. But he had no bruises or evidence to back up his claim, prosecutors Rebecca DiMeglio and Lara Penn told jurors.

At the time of the shooting, Latson was on probation for carrying a concealed weapon and burglary. Wilson, 37, is serving 28 years in prison for his role in the murder.

This story was originally published January 12, 2018 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Gold-chain robbery and murder caught on video. Killer is going to prison for life."