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PALM BEACH POST/2-7-09 HIALEAH, FLORIDA A short-lived crime spree that allegedly involved promises of underage prostitution in Hialeah motels ended in Hollywood with four people in custody and two people shot by a police officer. Police said Elio Lleo of Miami and Gustavo Fernandez of Davie were wanted in connection with two Hialeah armed robberies when the Dodge Neon in which they were riding pulled into the parking lot of the Royal Sheridan Apartments, 4200 Sheridan St., about 7:30 p.m Tuesday. Hialeah and Davie police officers were watching because the Neon's occupants were suspected of being behind two holdups in Hialeah in which men were lured to motels by underage girls and then robbed at gunpoint. The first robbery took place Feb. 1, when Priscilla Bernal, 17, and Helen Cabrera, 16, met two men in a Hialeah bar, according to Hialeah police spokesman Detective Carl Zogby. The girls, he said, went with the men to the Hialeah Motel with the promise that they would have sex for money. But when the men entered the motel, they were robbed at gunpoint by Fernandez and Lleo, Zogby said. Police said Bernal repeated the scam with Lleo and Fernandez the next night at a different motel, and during the robbery Lleo fired his gun at one of the victims. No one was injured, Zogby said. Police caught up to Bernal and Cabrera on Tuesday and arrested them in Hialeah. They tracked Lleo and Fernandez to Hollywood, and stopped the car as it entered the apartments' parking lot. Here's how police say the bust and shooting happened: Officers approached the Neon with their weapons drawn. Diana Donahue, the 18-year-old driver, stepped out of the car with her hands up. Then Hialeah Sgt. Orlando Salvat saw that Lleo, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was holding a gun. Salvat shouted, ''Police!'' and fired three shots when Lleo turned and pointed the gun in his direction. The bullets struck Lleo and Donahue. The wounded pair were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Police found a gray firearm under Lleo's seat, and also a loaded Hi-Point 380-caliber weapon in the pocket of Fernandez, who was in the back seat. A fourth passenger, Pedro Pereira, was taken to the Hollywood police station for questioning. Police said Fernandez and Lleo, both 20, are convicted felons. The men face charges from Hollywood and Hialeah police, including attempted murder, armed robbery and carrying a concealed firearm. Lleo is also charged with assault on a police officer. Bernal was charged with attempted murder and two counts of armed robbery. Cabrera faces one charge of armed robbery. Salvat, the Hialeah sergeant who fired his gun Tuesday night, has been placed on three days' administrative leave — standard police policy when an officer fires a gun. Neither Donahue nor Pereira was charged. Lt. Scott Pardon, a Hollywood police spokesman, said the department's case would be reviewed by the Broward state attorney's office when the investigation is complete.
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