The Miccosukee Casino has been in operation since 1999.
A former Army Ranger won a nice jackpot at a West Miami-Dade resort on Christmas Night, only to be shot to death outside the casino the next day. It is still unclear whether his prize money was the reason the victim was shot.
Fernando Duarte, a 33-year old former soldier from the elite Army Rangers, played the slot machines at the Miccosukee Resort & Casino in the Miami area. He won a prize on the slots, then left the casino with his winnings, as gaming experts suggest winning gamblers should do.
Altercation Escalated in the Parking Lot
Moments later, he was in a “brief verbal altercation” in the casino with Mikey Tyquan Lenard and Kenin Sherrod Bailey. According to the Miccosukee police, the fight escalated when the men stepped outside into the parking lot. Bailey and Lenard got in their car.
As they drove past Fernando Duarte, the 25-year old Kenin Bailey fired his weapon at Duarte, striking him once in the leg and once in the wrist. Mikey Lenard, also 25 years old, was driving the car at the time of the shooting.
Duarte Died in Surgery
Fernando Duarte was taken to Kendall Regional Medical Center for medical treatment, but he died in surgery, according to police. Both Lenard and Bailey are being held on murder charges.
The police officer who filed the report wrote, “The co-defendant [Lenard] operated the motor vehicle and actively sought out the victim in the parking lot.”
Bailey and Lenard Arrested by Police
Soon after, the police captured Bailey and Lenard. Both were taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where they were charged with first-degree murder. Both men were denied bond in the case.
In an interview with WTVJ Channel 6 Miami News, family members of Fernando Duarte said that the Army veteran had won a prize in the casino moments before being shot and killed. That is the extent of the report on his winnings at present, so no details about the size of his winnings were reported.
Miccosukee Resort & Gaming
The Miccosukee Resort & Gaming is a Miami casino resort located 15 miles west of the Florida Turnpike. The 24-hour facility has over 1700 gaming machines, along with a high limit gaming area. The gaming space includes a 1050-seat high stakes bingo hall, which features a Saturday Sizzler game each week.
The casino is owned by the Miccosukee Tribe, which is also famous for the Miccosukee Everglades Music Festival each year. The resort is described as “one of the most unusual resort destinations in Florida“, because it is a grand casino surrounded by a real Native American village. The Miccosukee Resort was built in 1999 at a cost of $45 million. The resort is located inside a 9-story building.
Miccosukee Tribal History
The Miccosukee Tribe migrated to Florida before it became a part of the United States, when the area was still seen by the international community as a possession of the Spanish Empire. When it migrated to Florida, the Miccosukee separated from the larger Creek Nation, one of the largest Native American nations in North America.
During the Indian Wars of the early decades of the 19th Century, roughly 100 Mikasuki-speaking Creeks hid in the Florida Everglades. Their recognized descendants own the resort-casino. Since their tribe’s entry into the Everglades, the tribe has expanded to about 600 members.
The tribe stayed to themselves inside the Everglades for roughly 100 years, resisting efforts at assimilation until Tamiani Trail was built in 1928. The tribe gained official recognition in 1962 by the US Secretary of the Interior. They were dubbed the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida by the US federal government.
