1986 FBI Miami shootout

Crime spree

Before embarking on their crime spree, neither Platt nor Matix had a criminal record.^[11] At the time of the shootout, Platt's second wife, Brenda, claimed to have had no idea that her husband and his friend were armed robbers.^{[citation needed]} Almost all of their robberies occurred on or near the South Dixie Highway (U.S. Route 1) in the southern Miami metropolitan area.

The following are the crimes that have been largely attributed to the two men:

• On October 4, 1985, Platt and Matix murdered 25-year-old Emilio Briel while he was target shooting at a rock pit in the Florida Everglades. The pair stole Briel's car, a gold 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and used it to commit several robberies.^[12] Briel's remains were found in March 1986 but not identified until May.^{[citation needed]}
• On October 9, 1985, five days after killing Briel, Platt and Matix attempted to rob a Loomis armored van outside of a Steak and Ale restaurant in the 9000 block of Southwest 97th Avenue. They stole a duffel bag containing $2,825 from a courier who was walking back to the armored van, but were unable to break into the van. The driver sped away before the robbers could steal the more than $400,000 inside.
• On October 16, 1985, Platt and Matix attempted to rob a Wells Fargo armored van that was servicing a Winn-Dixie supermarket at 7930 Southwest 104th Street. After ordering courier Jose Sanchez to freeze, one of the men wounded him in the leg with a shotgun; the other fired a rifle and possibly a handgun from the getaway vehicle. Two other guards returned fire, but neither Platt nor Matix was wounded. No money was taken in the botched robbery. Sanchez survived the shooting to make a full recovery.
• On October 17, 1985, Platt and Matix attempted to rob a Loomis armored van outside of a Dalts American Grill restaurant at 11641 Southwest 88th Street. The courier — the same one involved in the October 9 robbery — saw the two robbers as he was returning to the armored van, drew his revolver, and opened fire. The robbers did not shoot and immediately fled the scene.
• On November 8, 1985, two robberies occurred within 90 minutes of each other. The first robbery happened at a Florida National Bank branch at 14801 South Dixie Highway, where Platt and Matix stole a bag containing $10,000 from a bank teller. A police officer briefly tailed them as they left the bank and managed to get the license plate number of the getaway vehicle. The second robbery happened at the Professional Savings Bank at 13100 South Dixie Highway, where the robbers stole $41,469 in three Wells Fargo money bags that had been delivered that morning.^[3]
• On January 10, 1986, Platt and Matix shot a Brinks Company courier as he opened the back door of his armored van at a Barnett Bank branch at 13593 South Dixie Highway. The courier was shot once in the back with a shotgun and twice more with a .223-caliber rifle, described by witnesses as an AR-15 or M16-style rifle, as he lay on the ground. Afterward, the robbers escaped with $54,000 in Briel's Chevrolet Monte Carlo. A civilian followed them to the parking lot of a nearby Burger King restaurant, where he saw the two men transferring the money and guns to a white Ford F-150 pickup truck.^[3]: 30 The courier survived the shooting but was left with more than 100 shotgun pellets in his body.^[13]
• On March 12, 1986, Platt and Matix robbed and shot 30-year-old Jose Collazo as he was target shooting at a rock pit in the Florida Everglades, in an almost identical manner to Briel's killing. Collazo was shot not far from where Briel was killed. According to Collazo, who survived the shooting, the two men arrived in a white Ford F-150 pickup truck and held him at gunpoint, taking the keys to Collazo's black 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo before shooting him three times in the back, arm, and head. Collazo played dead as the gunmen drove away in the F-150 and Monte Carlo; he walked three miles to get help.^[13]
• On March 19, 1986, one week after shooting Collazo, Platt and Matix robbed a Barnett Bank branch, the same one they had targeted in the January 10 robbery. They stole $8,338 before fleeing in Collazo's Monte Carlo.^[3]: 31

In response to the numerous bank robberies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Miami office formed the C-1 Division, explicitly to combat these crimes. They referred to suspects as the "Unknown Gang" and discerned a pattern in their robberies: the men always committed the robberies on Fridays when the armored vans made their drop-offs. C-1 concluded that the robbers would likely commit another robbery on Friday, April 11, 1986.

Stakeout and attempted traffic stop

At 8:45 a.m. on April 11, 1986, a team of undercover FBI agents led by Special Agent Gordon McNeill assembled at a Home Depot to initiate a "rolling stakeout" in search of Collazo's Monte Carlo, acting on a hunch that the robbers would attempt a robbery that morning. Of the fourteen agents who participated in the stakeout, eight men in five unmarked cars were involved in the shootout, and were deployed as follows:^[3]

• 44-year-old Supervisory Special Agent Gordon McNeill (20-year veteran)
• 43-year-old Special Agent Richard Manauzzi (15-year veteran)
• 52-year-old Special Agent Benjamin Grogan (25-year veteran), with 30-year-old Special Agent Jerry Dove (4-year veteran)
• 33-year-old Special Agent Edmundo Mireles Jr. (7-year veteran), with 48-year-old Special Agent John Hanlon (23-year veteran)
• 27-year-old Special Agent Gilbert Orrantia (4-year veteran), with 43-year-old Special Agent Ronald Risner (22-year veteran).

Of the agents involved, two had Remington 870 shotguns in their vehicles (McNeill and Mireles), three were armed with Smith & Wesson Model 459 9mm semi-automatic pistols (Dove, Grogan, and Risner), and the rest were armed with Smith & Wesson revolvers; two had .357 Magnums and five had .38 Specials. Two of the agents had backup .38 Special revolvers (Hanlon and Risner), which they both used during the shootout.^[3]

At around 9:30 a.m., agents Grogan and Dove were staking out a bank at the Barnett Shopping Center when they spotted the Monte Carlo, driven by Matix, and began to follow it after confirming that it was Collazo's vehicle. The two unmarked cars containing Hanlon, Mireles, and Manauzzi joined them. The agents attempted to conduct a traffic stop after the vehicles turned onto Southwest 82nd Avenue in the then-unincorporated village of Pinecrest.

Grogan pulled alongside the Monte Carlo as it drove south, while Hanlon and Manauzzi in the two other vehicles followed close behind, in an attempt to force Matix to pull over. Matix sped up and slammed into Grogan, who drove ahead in order to block the suspects' escape. Hanlon rammed into Matix from behind, causing Matix to lose control of his vehicle, which spun around to face the opposite direction from where the vehicles were driving. Hanlon also lost control of his vehicle in the collision and crashed into the wall of a substation located on the opposite side of the street.

Now facing north, the suspects in the Monte Carlo tried to drive away but were rammed by Manauzzi. This collision sent the Monte Carlo nose first into a tree in a small parking area in front of a house at 12201 Southwest 82nd Avenue. It was pinned between a parked Oldsmobile Cutlass on its passenger side and Manauzzi's car on the driver side.^[3]

These collisions also resulted in the FBI vehicles sustaining damage from the heavier, older car driven by Matix.^[14] Prior to ramming the Monte Carlo, Manauzzi had pulled out his service revolver and put it on the seat in anticipation of a shootout,^[14] but the collision flung open his door and reportedly the gun either went flying out the door or was thrown to the floor.^{[citation needed]} Hanlon also lost his .357 Magnum service revolver during the initial collision, and used his Smith & Wesson Model 36 backup weapon. The collision also knocked off Grogan's glasses, and there is speculation his vision was so bad that he was unable to see clearly enough to be effective. This a claim disputed by the FBI's medical director, who stated that Grogan's vision was "not that bad".

Shootout

Platt, in the passenger seat of the Monte Carlo, brought up a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle and opened fire at Manauzzi's car.^[15] Manauzzi was wounded in the head and back by bullet fragments as he stumbled out of his car. He was unable to recover his revolver and took cover behind a nearby wall for the remainder of the gunfight.

McNeill had turned around to catch up with the other agents; he arrived and began firing over the hood of Manauzzi's car.

Platt pulled back from the Monte Carlo's window, giving Matix opportunity to fire. Due to the collision damage, Matix could only partially open his door; he fired one blast of his Smith & Wesson Model 3000 shotgun at Grogan and Dove, striking their vehicle. Matix was shot in the right forearm,^[a] a hit credited to Grogan.^[8][15] As Matix pulled back, McNeill returned fire, hitting Matix with two rounds in the head and neck. Matix was apparently knocked unconscious by McNeill's hits and fired no more rounds.^[b] McNeill was shot in the hand by Platt. His wound and blood in his revolver's chambers prevented him from reloading.^[14]

At this point, Hanlon and Mireles ran across the street to join the fight, with Hanlon aiding Grogan, and Mireles moving to support McNeill. Quickly Platt fired at Mireles, severely wounding the agent in his left forearm and leaving him largely incapacitated.^[14]

Platt climbed out of the passenger side car window, and over the hood of the Cutlass that the Monte Carlo was pinned against. As he did so, one of Dove's bullets passed through his right upper arm and struck his chest, stopping an inch away from his heart. The autopsy found that Platt's right lung had collapsed and his chest cavity contained 1.3 liters of blood, suggesting damage to the main blood vessels of the right lung. Of his many gunshot wounds, this wound was the primary one responsible for Platt's eventual death.^[c] Platt was shot again in the right thigh and left foot, probably by Dove.^[d] Around this time, Risner and Orrantia arrived and began providing covering fire for the other agents.

Platt took cover by the passenger side front fender of the Cutlass. After shooting a .357 Magnum revolver at Risner and Orrantia, he was wounded a fourth time when turning to fire at Hanlon, Dove, and Grogan. Orrantia's bullet penetrated Platt's right forearm, fractured the radius bone, and exited the forearm. This wound caused Platt to drop his revolver.^[e] It is estimated that Platt was quickly shot a fifth time, by Risner. The bullet penetrated Platt's right upper arm, exited below the armpit and entered his torso, stopping below his shoulder blade. The wound was not serious.^[f]

Platt fired one round from his Ruger Mini-14 at Risner's and Orrantia's position, wounding Orrantia in the left shoulder with shrapnel created by the bullet's passage, and two rounds at McNeill. One round hit McNeill in the neck, causing him to collapse and leaving him paralyzed for several hours. Platt apparently positioned the Mini-14 against his shoulder and, using his uninjured left hand, continued firing.^[16]

Dove's 9 mm pistol was rendered inoperative after being hit by one of Platt's bullets, while Hanlon was shot in the hand while reloading. Grogan and Dove took position kneeling alongside the driver's side of their car. Both were preoccupied with getting Dove's weapon working and did not detect that Platt was aggressively advancing upon them. Platt rounded the rear of their car and killed Grogan with a shot to the chest, shot Hanlon in the groin area, and then killed Dove with two shots to the head.

Platt got into Grogan and Dove's car in an apparent attempt to flee the scene.^[g] As he did so, Mireles fired the first of five rounds from his shotgun, wounding Platt in both feet. He was wounded and could use only one arm.^[14]

Matix had regained consciousness and joined Platt in the FBI unmarked car. Mireles fired four more rounds at Platt and Matix, but hit neither.^[h]

Around this time, Metro-Dade police officers Rick Frye, Leonard Figueroa, and Martin Heckman arrived. Heckman covered McNeill's paralyzed body with his own,^[i] while Frye assisted Hanlon.^[15] None of the officers fired any shots

Platt's actions at this moment in the fight have been debated. A civilian witness described Platt leaving the car, walking almost 20 feet and firing at Mireles three times at close range. Mireles does not remember this happening, nor do Heckman, Risner, and Orrantia, who were observing from the other side of the street.^[16] But it is known that Platt pulled Matix's Dan Wesson revolver at some point and fired three rounds with it.^[16][17]

As Platt attempted to start Grogan and Dove's car, Mireles drew his .357 Magnum revolver, moved parallel to the street, and directly toward Platt and Matix. Mireles fired six rounds at the suspects. The first round missed, hitting the back of the front seat. The second hit the driver's side window post and fragmented, with one small piece hitting Platt in the scalp. The third hit Matix in the face, and fragmented in two, with neither piece causing a serious wound. The fourth hit Matix in the face next to his right eye socket, traveled downward through the facial bones into the neck, where it entered the spinal column and severed the spinal cord. The fifth hit Matix in the face, penetrated the jawbone and neck and came to rest by the spinal column.^[j] Mireles reached the driver's side door, extended his revolver through the window, and fired his sixth shot at Platt. The bullet penetrated Platt's chest and bruised the spinal cord.^[k] These shots fatally injured both Matix and Platt, ending the gunfight.

The shootout involved ten people: two suspects and eight FBI agents. Of the ten, only Special Agent Manauzzi, did not fire any shots (having lost his firearm in the initial collision). Only Special Agent Risner survived unwounded. The incident lasted less than five minutes, during which approximately 145 shots were exchanged.^[14][16]

Toxicology tests showed that Platt and Matix had fought through multiple traumatic gunshot wounds and attempted to escape basically on adrenaline; both were drug-free at the time of their deaths.^[16]

Agents

Killed

• Benjamin Grogan: Smith & Wesson Model 459 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, nine rounds fired. Killed by a .223 gunshot wound to the chest.
• Jerry Dove: Smith & Wesson Model 459 9mm semi-automatic pistol, 20+ rounds fired. Killed by two .223 gunshot wounds to the head.

Perpetrators

• William Matix: Smith & Wesson Model 3000 12-gauge pump shotgun, one round of #6 shot fired. Killed after being shot six times.
• Michael Platt: Ruger Mini-14 .223 Remington semi-automatic rifle, at least 42 rounds fired, Smith & Wesson Model 586 .357 Magnum revolver, three rounds fired, Dan Wesson .357 Magnum revolver, three rounds fired. Killed after being shot 12 times.

Lawsuit

After the shootout, the families of agents Jerry Dove and Benjamin Grogan sued the estates of Platt and Matix under the RICO statute for damages. The lawsuit was dismissed, because the families did not allege the "kind of recovery that RICO was designed to afford."^[19]

Memorial

In 2001, the Village of Pinecrest, Florida, which incorporated in 1996, honored the two fallen agents by co-designating a portion of Southwest 82nd Avenue as Agent Benjamin Grogan Avenue and Agent Jerry Dove Avenue. Street signs and a historical marker commemorate the naming of the roadway in Grogan and Dove's honor.^[20]

Dove, a West Virginia native, had Jerry Dove Drive named after him in Bridgeport, West Virginia, leading to Clarksburg, West Virginia where the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division is located. He had earned degrees from both West Virginia University and Marshall University.^[21]

In 2014, the FBI Miami field office moved to new quarters in Miramar, Florida. The two towers of the new office space were dedicated in memory of Dove and Grogan in a ceremony in April 2015. The first floor contains a memorial to Dove and Grogan. Every year on April 11, the FBI Miami office holds a fallen agent ceremony in honor of Dove, Grogan, and all FBI agents killed in the line of duty.^{[citation needed]}