An off-duty Miami Beach police officer and her sister brutally attacked a woman while she was on a date with her boyfriend. Ambar Pacheco kicked eight-months-pregnant, Evoni Murray, age 27, in the stomach and has been fired, police officials said. The attack sent Murray into premature labor.
Evoni Murray told reporters at CBS News Miami that she and her boyfriend, Joseph Predelus Jr., were walking on Washington Avenue around 8:30 on Wednesday evening when they came across Pacheco and her sister Mikaela. Reports said the pair was crying.
Murray also cited that Pacheco and her sister imagined that she and her boyfriend were somehow insulting her. And that’s when Pacheco attacked.
Murray said, “They thought that we were talking about them and we weren’t. They just got belligerent and they got loud. They tried to jump me because they thought I said something.”
Murray said that neither she nor her boyfriend provoked the attack in any way.
The attack, however, sent Murray into premature labor and she had to be transported to a hospital following the incident. She delivered a healthy baby boy. Her original due date was August 4. Throughout the ordeal, Predulus never left Murray’s side.
“It was stressful because I had to go through it,” Predulus told the news station. “Luckily, we had got her to Mount Sinai just in time because it only took seven minutes for the labor.”
Police Chief William Hernandez of the North Miami Beach Police Department announced Friday: “Due to Ms. Ambar Pacheco’s recent off-duty actions, her employment with the City of North Miami Beach has been terminated effective immediately,”
Pacheco, 26, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery in South Beach on Wednesday. She had been with the force less than a year and was in a probationary period, the Miami Herald reported.
In a prepared affidavit, Pacheco stated: “I saw red and beat the s— out of [Murray].” Later, Pacheco said that she could not remember who she had kicked. The affidavit also said that Murray was “visibly” pregnant.
Pacheco began working for the department in September 2017 even though she was arrested at 18 for petty theft. She was later referred to a pre-trial diversion program. Apparently, the rookie cop had had number of disciplinary issues plaguing her since being given the position. In fact, she was kept on probation for longer than usual, because of the problems.
According to reports, her employee file showed that she needed to “improve situational awareness” and “officer safety skills.” The file also said that she didn’t have a strong enough knowledge of police procedures and that she was often late for work. She had had three accidents in her police cruiser since being hired last year. Apparently, two of those accidents were not her responsibility. But the third accident caused property damage, and Pacheco got an official warning after the incident.
Pacheco, according to county court records, has had one prior arrest in Miami-Dade County, where she was booked at 18 for petty theft. She was later referred to a pre-trial diversion program, the Herald reports.
Pacheco could face up to fifteen years in prison with a minimum of having to serve 21 months and a $10,000 fine.
