• Submitted by: admin
• 12 / 07 / 2006

A souped-up car may have cost a 37-year-old man his life early this morning.

Abilio Perez was shot at least 12 times in a carjacking at a Chevron station on East 4th Avenue and 21st Street in Hialeah around midnight, according to Hialeah police spokesman Frank Gonzalez.

Authorities believe that two suspects shot Perez in his car, dragged his lifeless body out, left it at the station and fled in his car.

Perez was a recent immigrant from Camaguey, Cuba. He had been in South Florida for seven months, living with his sister, Zakdaisy Hernandez, and 17 year-old daughter, Zailet Hernandez.

Authorities are searching for a 2006 silver Chrysler 300 with tinted windows and 22-inch rims. The car was recently purchased and still has dealer tags on it.

Perez's sister said he had purchased the car about a month ago with earnings from his job as a plumber.

''His dream was to come here,'' Zakdaisy Hernandez said this afternoon from her east Hialeah home. ``He tried 15 times before and was finally able to get a visa.''

Hernandez described her brother as someone with a love of music and dancing, and a ''modest and friendly'' man.

Funeral services are being being planned for Perez. He also is survived by his parents Abilio Perez Sr., 74, and Carmen Perez, 70, who still live in Camaguey.

''They would like to be here, but we don't know if that's possible,'' Hernandez said.

Source: MaimaHerald.com