INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
North Miami Beach Police fired Ambar Pacheco from the force less than two days laterThere was soon to be few chances for Evoni Murray to
enjoy a carefree nighttime stroll in Miami Beach.Murray was eight months pregnant Wednesday
4 due date loomed as she walked in the sweltering summer heat with the father-to-be.Then the couple encountered off-duty police officer
A confrontation began, during which, Murray says, Pacheco kicked her in the stomach.Murray, 27, was in severe pain, a responding officer
wrote in a report, and was possibly having contractions on the street
The baby was coming - nine days early.Murray was rushed to a hospital, and Joseph Predelus III came into the world after seven minutes of
labor, his father Joseph, 40, told WSVN.Across town, Pacheco, 26, was arrested and charged for aggravated battery, according to a Miami
Beach Police Department affidavit provided to The Washington Post.North Miami Beach Police Chief William Hernandez fired Pacheco from the
force less than two days later."Due to Ms
Ambar Pacheco's recent off-duty actions, her employment with the City of North Miami Beach has been terminated effective immediately,"
Hernandez said Friday in a brief statement
She had been with the force less than a year and was in a probationary period, the Miami Herald reported.Details surrounding the incident
The arrest affidavit does not say how or why the confrontation started
But Ambar Pacheco told police that Predelus kicked her sister in the face, which prompted her violent reaction."I saw red and beat the s-
out of [Murray]," Pacheco said, according to the affidavit
She later said she couldn't recall who she kicked, the document says.Murray is described in the affidavit as "visibly pregnant."Predelus
denied assaulting Pacheo's younger sister, 21-year-old Mikaela Pacheco, and suggested that the women were intoxicated."I never did no
I never touched nobody," Predelus told WSVN
"All I did was defend my baby mother and a child
To me, I don't put my hands on women, and that's how it should be, especially a pregnant woman, too."In an interview with CBS Miami, Murray
speculated that the confrontation with the sisters began from a misunderstanding."We were walking down the sidewalk enjoying the night and
we saw them," she told the station
Then they thought we were talking about them, which was not true
They got belligerent and tried to jump because they thought I said something."A conviction for assaulting a known pregnant woman carries a
maximum of 15 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine in Florida, according to law firm Hussein Webber.Murray and the Pacheco sisters
could not be reached for comment
Predelus told The Post that his newborn son and Murray are doing well, but he declined to comment further.Mount Sinai Medical Center, where
Murray delivered her baby, did not respond to a request seeking comment
It is unclear if the alleged assault caused the premature birth, but physical trauma or injuries can contribute to early labor, according to
a Mayo Clinic fact sheet.Murray told CBS that she hopes Pacheco gets help as she enters the criminal justice system."It kind of troubles me
to know that the people who are supposed to be serving and protecting us are hurting us," Murray she told the station
"I know it's not all of them and one apple doesn't spoil the bunch
It's just that sometimes you get a bad seed."(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is
published from a syndicated feed.)
