He broke into a car and stole a gun — then the owner ran him off the road, police say
A driveway car burglary Saturday morning in South Miami-Dade ended with the suspect dead after the property owner took off after him and smashed into his scooter, police said Monday.
The homeowner had just been burglarized the night before. Someone broke into his car and stole several items, including the vehicle’s keys and a gun.
After Friday night’s car break-in, the suspect apparently returned to the house on Southwest 228th Terrace at 5 a.m. the next day. Police say the homeowner, Ellis Georges, came outside after seeing the burglar trying to break into his car again through his doorbell camera.
The burglary suspect, 35-year-old Michael Rullo, then hopped on his scooter and drove off. Police say Georges chased after him in his car.
The pursuit ended less than a mile away on Southwest 232nd Street, which dead-ends where concrete barriers border the back of a Walgreens drug store. Miami-Dade police say Georges, 45, plowed his car into Rullo’s scooter, causing him to slam into the barriers.
Rullo died on the ground in between two of the barriers. One of the wheels of his scooter rested by his feet. The force of the crash appeared to have knocked one of his shoes off.
The rest of the scooter was on the other side of the barrier.
Meanwhile, Georges’ wife called police to report the burglary. Officers arrived, and as they were speaking to her, Georges came home with “severe” damage to the front of his car, according to a detective’s report.
Police asked him what happened, and he told them he damaged the car chasing after Rullo.
“The defendant also stated that he believed he struck a barrier,” the detective wrote in his report.
Police arrested Georges on a charge of second-degree murder with a weapon. He is being held on no bond.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 2:56 PM.
