FHP arrests man accused of firing shots out of a Lamborghini on Miami’s Palmetto Expressway
A Doral man sent into a deferred prosecution program earlier this year for fleeing from police turned himself in Monday morning as the Palmetto Expressway Lamborghini shooter seen in a viral Instagram video.
An arrest report says Nelson Perez-Valdivia’s tattoos identified him.
The 23-year-old was arrested Monday on one count of carrying a concealed firearm, one count of improper exhibition of a firearm, one count of resisting an officer without violence and 14 counts (one for each shot in the video) of discharging a firearm from a vehicle.
“We immediately contacted law enforcement and worked out a voluntary surrender,” defense attorney Andrew Rier said Tuesday morning. “Mr. Valdivia fully cooperated with law enforcement and surrendered himself. We look forward to his day in court.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Perez-Valdivia remained in Miami-Dade Corrections custody at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He’d been granted bond of $26,015: $25,000 for one count of discharging a firearm, $1,000 for improper exhibition of a firearm and a dollar for each of the other 13 discharging charges, carrying a concealed firearm and resisting an officer.
While the arrest report says Perez-Valdivia was out on bond for a misdemeanor improper exhibition of a firearm charge, case No. M20008355, a check of online Miami-Dade court records reveals prosecutors decided in August to dismiss the charges in that case from May 2020.
However, Perez-Valdivia did post $500 bond on Feb. 7 of this year after an arrest on a different improper exhibition of a firearm charge, case No. B22001966.
Also, he was arrested March 26 on charges of fleeing and eluding law enforcement and resisting an officer without violence. No charges were filed formally on the resisting charge. As for the fleeing and eluding, the deferred prosecution program accepted Perez-Valdivia on Nov. 13.
READ MORE: Who fired a gun from a Lamborghini on the Palmetto Expressway?
Tats and a Lambo on the Palmetto?
The arrest report indicates Florida Highway Patrol investigators who saw the video uploaded by Instagram user “_taylor_2blea_” of a Dec. 23 trip down the Palmetto figured the green Lamborghini was moving down State Road 826 faster than 115 mph as it neared the Bird Road exit.
Video of the front seat passenger, who recorded part of the trip, shows the speedometer at 105 mph, the report said, then he reached into the center console — exposing left arm tattoos: roman numerals on his lower forearm and “what appears to be an elephant” on the back of his left hand. The right hand, in which the gun would be held as he fired, featured a sleeve tattoo covering the forearm and “what appeared to be a rose tattoo” on the back of his right hand.
After videoing a white Lamborghini rolling next to his whip, the report said, the front seat passenger subsequently “proceeds to fire approximately 14 rounds in the air, in a westbound direction toward Tropical Park.”
FHP investigators added that the Instagram account “_taylor_2blea_” on which the video originally posted — the Only In Dade account later reposted part of the video — belonged to Perez-Valdivia as did the tattoos spotted in the video.
“Mr. Perez-Valdivia does not carry a concealed weapons permit,” the report noted.
Miami Herald Staff Writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 26, 2022 at 5:29 PM.
