Felon arrested for shooting and arson at Temple Court Apartments – NBC 6 South Florida

The man arrested for allegedly setting a historic fire and shooting a building employee was identified by witnesses as “the one from 307,” leading to his arrest on Monday, police said.

Juan Francisco Figueroa, 73, is a convicted felon who now faces charges of attempted murder, arson and weapons possession, according to Miami police arrest reports. After his arrest, Figueroa reportedly told investigators he expected to “sit in prison for the rest of his life.”

He was admitted to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County on Tuesday.

Figueroa’s arrest reports state that while police were responding to a fire at the Temple Court Apartments at 431 Northwest 3rd Street, they found 30-year-old Feder Biotte outside the building with a gunshot wound.

When officers arrived, two residents were on site and described what they had seen.

A witness said he heard the shots from his apartment and when he went outside he saw the victim lying on the first floor of the building.

“Mr. Biotte said in Spanish, ‘307, the one from 307,’ as the witness attempted to administer first aid,” the arrest report states. One of the men – but it is unclear who it was – also said he saw an explosion after hearing the gunshots.

The second witness said he heard loud noises as he went down a flight of stairs, and when he came out he saw a man run past him and out of the building. The running man was again described as a “resident of apartment number 307,” police said.

Police from the tactical robbery unit began searching for the suspect and his car, a maroon 2008 Honda, the police report states. They found the suspect’s vehicle around 1:45 p.m.

Shortly after 3 p.m., officers saw Figueroa walking nearby. He got into his car and police followed him until they stopped him at the corner of NW 2nd Avenue and 28th Street, police said.

The officers handcuffed the suspect. He is said to have had a revolver and ammunition in his pockets.

When investigators tried to question Figueroa hours later, he interrupted them and said “he knew what he had done and expected to spend the rest of his life in prison,” according to the arrest reports.

Authorities are investigating a shooting and a major fire at a Miami apartment building.

Figueroa is a convicted felon, authorities said. In 1992, he was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault.

It is still unclear how and why Figueroa set the fire and shot Biotte, a maintenance technician at the apartment building who, according to his family, has a nine-year-old son in Haiti.

The Temple Court fire left 43 people homeless Monday morning. Mayor Francis Suarez said 126 firefighters battled the flames for about eight hours, a historic response by the city’s fire department.

The Miami Fire Investigation Unit, Miami Police Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating.

Editor’s note (June 11, 2024, 12:48 p.m. EST): Authorities initially stated in their arrest reports that Figueroa was convicted of first-degree murder in 1992. Court records show the charge was attempted second-degree murder.