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FYI: Bobby Yee Murder case

DNA, fingerprint point to killer of ex-Miami cop, police say

BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com

A fingerprint and DNA on a Tropicana orange juice bottle -- apparently used as a makeshift silencer -- pointed detectives to the alleged killer of retired Miami Police Capt. Robert Yee, according to an arrest warrant unsealed Thursday.

Yee, a 25-year Miami police veteran who retired in 1995, was shot dead by a mysterious man while driving a golf cart at the Hurricane Cove Marina in July 2009. Yee oversaw daily operations at the marina, 1884 NW N. River Dr.

A Miami-Dade grand jury indicted Rafael Toirac-Aguilera Wednesday on a charge of first-degree murder. He was extradited from New Jersey.

Toirac-Aguilera appeared in a Miami-Dade court Thursday morning and was appointed a lawyer from the public defender's office. He is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

According to the warrant, detectives found the Tropicana bottle next to the golf cart where Yee was shot dead. Police believe the bottle was taped to the killer's revolver.

DNA taken from the lip of the bottle matched Toirac-Aguilera, a convicted felon in New Jersey, who was being held in a jail there on an unrelated domestic violence charge. A fingerprint found on the bottle also matched the suspect, according to the warrant.

Miami police detectives Frankie Sanchez and Andy Arostegui flew to New Jersey in December and interviewed Toirac-Aguilera's girlfriend. She told them the couple had driven to Miami in a rented silver Toyota Corolla to stay with a friend in July 2009.

On the day of the murder, Toirac-Aguilera disappeared for hours without telling her where he was going, according to the warrant.

Yee's killer drove a silver Corolla, according to police.

The detectives questioned Toirac-Aguilera in jail, and he claimed he had not been to Miami since 2000. In a sworn statement, Toirac-Aguilera claimed he was working in New Jersey at the time of Yee's murder, according to the warrant.

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