FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

MIAMI DIVISION

CASE NO. 22-20389-CR-RKA

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, .

 .

 Plaintiff, . Miami, Florida

 . August 23, 2023

 v. . 2:44 p.m.

 .

 JAIME SERRANO, .

 .

 Defendant. .

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

- - - - -

Transcript of Government's Closing Arguments had

before the Honorable Roy K. Altman,

United States District Judge, and a Jury.

- - - - -

 Proceedings recorded by mechanical stenography, transcript

 produced by computer. 

Case 1:22-cr-20389-RKA Document 247-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/18/2023 Page 1 of 13
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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

 APPEARANCES: 

 For the Government: Abbie D. Waxman 

 Michael E. Gilfarb 

 Katherine Guthrie 

 Assistant U.S. Attorneys 

 U.S. Attorney's Office 

 99 N.E. 4th Street 

 Miami, Florida 33132 

 For the Defendant Jeremy A. McLymont, Esq. 

 Jaime Serrano: Jeremy A. McLymont, P.A. 

 1000 W. Cass Street 

 Tampa, Florida 33606 

 and 

 Cherly Lucien, Esq. 

 210 Lake Point Drive, #311 

 Oakland Park, Florida 33309 

 and 

 Yeslly Herrera, Esq. 

 AsiliA Law Firm 

 33 SW 2nd Avenue, Suite 1104 

 Miami, Florida 33134 

 Court Reporter: Francine C. Salopek, RMR, CRR 

 Official Court Reporter 

 United States District Court 

 299 E. Broward Blvd., Room 207B 

 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 

 (305)301-3276 

- - - - - 

Case 1:22-cr-20389-RKA Document 247-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/18/2023 Page 2 of 13
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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2023, 2:44 P.M.

***** 

MS. WAXMAN: I came before you a week ago and I said:

This defendant paid for the flights that brought him and the

shooter from New York to Miami; this defendant rented the cars

that they used to surveil and later shoot in the

driveway of his home; this defendant did surveillance day in

and day out leading up to the night of the shooting; and this

defendant drove that car out of the parking lot the night of

the shooting.

When I said that to you last time, he sat here

presumed innocent. When I say it to you now, I submit to you,

ladies and gentlemen, that over the course of this week, you

have heard witnesses testify, you have seen documentation that

proves to you that it's true.

Him and the shooter came down here with the intent to

kill, harass, intimidate, or injure They, in fact,

did so after surveilling him on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th, and

27th. And then his conspirator, Jimenez, who was in on this

crime with him, walked into community wearing a mask,

gloves, holding a loaded gun, and emptied eight bullets into

 car.

Now, we're going to go over the evidence. One thing

that happened during this case is that evidence came in by way

of testimony and it came in by way of exhibits.

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Case 1:22-cr-20389-RKA Document 247-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/18/2023 Page 3 of 13
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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

Now, you're going to get an exhibit list in the back

with you. Each exhibit is identified by a number or a letter,

and you can track it one by one. Then they have a description

of the exhibits. A lot of these exhibits came in when you

didn't even know it, because they came in by way of a business

record certification, right? So someone said, "This record is

exactly what it is supposed to be," and then it got admitted

into evidence.

You will be able to go through these exhibits one by

one. What I am going to show you is what these exhibits mean

as it relates to this defendant.

Fran, may I have this one, please?

THE COURT REPORTER: Is it the 1 or 2?

MS. WAXMAN: One.

(Discussion had off the record between counsel)

MS. WAXMAN: Judge, may I have a minute, please?

THE COURT: Sure.

(Discussion had off the record)

THE COURT: I just saw it.

There we go.

MS. WAXMAN: Okay. So now let's start with the

shooter.

(Video playing)

MS. WAXMAN: Now, ladies and gentlemen, at the top

right-hand corner of your screen, you see driving

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Case 1:22-cr-20389-RKA Document 247-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/18/2023 Page 4 of 13
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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

home into his community just like he always does. Remember

what he said to you when he took the stand as the first

witness. "I followed the same routine day in and day out. I

leave work, pull into my community, get out of the car, go into

my house to meet my wife. We then walk to Publix together."

That's what he told you.

Now, as you watch at the top right-hand corner, you

see a very small Julian Jimenez come into the community. He

comes in from the entrance on Southwest 117th Avenue, and he

walks down the sidewalk up to where home is.

Ladies and gentlemen, he walked in at just the right

moment, the exact time that was going to be pulling

into his home, because he knew routine.

As he walks up, he makes his way over to 

home -- my computer is not behaving at all. You see the second

image of home. This is the camera that captures

the driveway where pulled in.

(Video playing)

MS. WAXMAN: I don't know why it isn't working.

(Discussion had off the record between counsel)

MS. WAXMAN: You see pull into his vehicle (sic),

and just like he told you on the stand, he's on the phone.

He's talking to his mortgage broker about the interest rates,

and that's why he didn't quite pull in. Had he followed his

exact routine, the shooter would have met him and his wife

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Case 1:22-cr-20389-RKA Document 247-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/18/2023 Page 5 of 13
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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

walking to Publix. That's also in evidence.

(Video playing)

MR. GILFARB: It's from the beginning.

MS. WAXMAN: That's fine.

(Video playing)

MS. WAXMAN: As he sits on his phone, Julian Jimenez

gets closer and closer, until actually running up and sending

eight bullets flying, three of them piercing 

(Video playing)

MS. WAXMAN: You see Julian's gloves, you see that

he's wearing a mask, and you can see that he fires that gun.

These images are taken from the shooting videos.

These images show you that these are the pieces of disguise,

these are the things that the shooter used to cover up before

actually going to do the shooting.

Now, why did those things matter? This map shows you

the exact layout of the community. So the circle is where 

 home is. And on the flight path that Jimenez took, that

we know it was Jimenez who took it, because we heard from the

DNA expert, who said his DNA was on the mask and inside one of

the gloves as a match. He said one in 14.6 nonillion. And I

asked him, "I'm not good with numbers. What on earth is

nonillion?" He said, "Multiple earths in order to find another

person who would have the same DNA." 

So, ladies and gentlemen, Julian Jimenez was the

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Case 1:22-cr-20389-RKA Document 247-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/18/2023 Page 6 of 13
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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

shooter that night. And as he made his flight to that waiting

Nissan Rogue, he travelled from community, and he

dropped his mask, his gloves, and his gun. Go back into the

evidence and look at the crime scene photos.

Then we get to the blue Nissan Rogue, the blue Nissan

Rogue that we heard so much about. That blue Nissan Rogue was

waiting at Rock Ridge Park.

That final box at Southwest 108th Lane is

Mr. Bhamani's home. You heard from Mr. Bhamani. He came in

here and he told you that, "My home has surveillance footage."

That surveillance footage faces the park, and it captures the

park. And, thankfully, Miami-Dade Police Department collected

that video that night.

That is why the defendant sits here charged with these

three counts.

So let's go through the law a little bit before I go

through the evidence that allows you to reach your verdict of

guilty on all three counts.

In order to prove interstate stalking, we, the

government, have to prove that the defendant travelled in

interstate or foreign commerce; that the defendant did so with

the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate 

and that in the course of, or as a result of, that travel, the

defendant engaged in conduct that put in reasonable

fear of serious bodily injury or death.

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Case 1:22-cr-20389-RKA Document 247-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/18/2023 Page 7 of 13
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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

Then we get to the conspiracy. We have to prove that

two or more people agreed. It can be this defendant and

Jimenez. It can be this defendant, Jimenez, and other people.

There needs to be an illegal agreement, an illegal agreement to

use a firearm during that first count. He had to know of that

agreement, and he had to participate in that agreement.

Then we get to Count 3. In order to prove Count 3, we

have to prove to you -- and these instructions will come back

with you, the judge already read them to you, and you will get

a copy of them -- we have to prove that the defendant committed

the interstate stalking charged in Count 1, and that in

relation to that interstate stalking, he knowingly used or

carried a firearm.

There is one other instruction that is incredibly

important for your deliberations -- aiding and abetting. This

instruction reads as follows: 

"It's possible to prove the defendant guilty of a

crime even without evidence that the defendant

personally performed every act charged. Ordinarily,

any act a person can do may be done by directing

another person" -- like in this case, Julian

Jimenez -- "or it may be done by acting with or under

the direction of others."

And we will get to all of those others that you heard

about.

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Case 1:22-cr-20389-RKA Document 247-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/18/2023 Page 8 of 13
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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

"A defendant 'aids or abets' a person if the

defendant intentionally joins with the person to

commit a crime. A defendant is criminally

responsible for the acts of another person if the

defendant aids and abets the other person. A

defendant is also responsible if the defendant

willfully directs or authorizes the acts of an

associate."

Ladies and gentlemen, the government has proven to you

that this defendant was smart enough not to hold the gun

himself. He was smart enough to have Julian Jimenez, his

nephew, his generational family friend, who's been in special

ed. classes his entire life, that is what's in evidence, he was

smart enough to have him be the sucker, to have him hold the

gun, to have him do the shooting, in hopes that he would get

away.

"But finding that the defendant is criminally

responsible for the acts of another person requires

proof that the defendant intentionally associated

with or participated in the crime -- not just proof

that the defendant was simply present at the scene of

a crime or knew about it. Although the evidence of

'presence' or 'flight' is not alone enough to sustain

a conviction, such evidence coupled with other

evidence of guilt may provide adequate grounds for a

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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

conviction."

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, he did not have to

fire that gun to be convicted of this crime. He did not have

to walk into the community and shoot to be convicted

of this crime.

Here's why he should be convicted of this crime.

Let's talk about what's not in dispute first. Let's

pull everything out that you do not have to worry about,

because it came into evidence, and the defense did not

challenge it. It's here. It is for you to go back into the

jury room as fact.

 was shot on August 27, 2019. You heard him.

You heard him cry about the fear that he felt at the thought of

what could happen to his wife or his kid, who was still inside

of that house. You heard him talk about as he told his wife,

"Close the door, they're still shooting."

He suffered permanent disfigurement. You saw the

photographs of his scars on his body, the scars from when he

was shot, then later operated on to try and remove the bullets

that were left behind. You have that in evidence. That is not

in dispute.

You know that he followed the same routine. He

followed that same routine, and he told you about that routine.

And that's going to matter because that comes back to how this

defendant and Jimenez knew where to find him and when to find

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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

him, and how the timing worked out just right the night of his

shooting and then leaving from the shooting.

Jimenez is the shooter. Not in dispute. You heard

from a DNA analyst that says it was a match, a match on the

mask, a match on the gloves. Jimenez is your shooter.

Now we have to get backward from that.

You also learned in evidence that Shifta, a name that

you heard so many times, Tamrat "Shifta" Mason, paid the

defendant $1200 immediately before booking his ticket.

The defendant and Jimenez flew down from New York to

Miami. Also not in dispute.

The defendant paid for the Days Inn with his debit

card ending in '4818. Not in dispute.

The defendant rented two vehicles from Enterprise.

And we will go into those vehicles and why he rented both of

those vehicles. But you know he rented a white Nissan Versa,

and he rented that blue Nissan Rogue.

One of the defendant's vehicles was the blue Nissan

Rogue that went through the toll plaza that night. You know

that because of the toll plaza records, because it captured the

license plate of that vehicle and because it captured the front

image of that vehicle. We'll come back to that front image in

a minute.

You know that the defendant's blue Nissan Rogue went

through that toll five minutes after the blue Nissan Rogue left

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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

the park parking lot that night. You know that because it is

in evidence. The toll plaza records show the time that that

vehicle drove through immediately after it leaving the park,

immediately after Jimenez emptied that gun into 

You also know -- and it is not in dispute -- that a

Hispanic male driving the blue Nissan Rogue that was in Rock

Ridge Park got out and wiped down the doors and the handles of

that blue Nissan Rogue.

What else is not in dispute? The defendant's cell

site records put his phone at the towers near home

and business on the 23rd, 24th, 26th, and 27th. What a

coincidence. Another thing not in dispute. Jimenez's phone

records put him at those same towers or ones close by on those

very same days.

You also know from the evidence that Jimenez was at

the Mint, the apartment that Shifta stays at, that you heard

from Dr. Ashby, who walked in here and couldn't have gotten off

the stand quicker.

Dr. Ashby didn't want to be involved with this.

Dr. Ashby said that he was friends with Shifta. Shifta uses

his apartment at the Mint. And you know that this defendant

and Shifta are not only friends, Shifta helped pay to get him

down here, $1200, remember? They're on the phone together.

The $1200 gets Cash App'd to the defendant. He receives the

money, and then he books his flights down from New York to

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FRANCINE C. SALOPEK, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

(305)301-3276

CLOSING ARGUMENT - WAXMAN

Miami.

You know, because of the cell records, that this

defendant and the shooter never are back at the towers by 

 home or residence after the shooting. Think about that

for a minute. They are there on the 23rd, 24th, 26th, 27th and

then gone, never to come back to those towers after the

shooting.

The defendant and Jimenez are generational family

friends. The defendant in his 40s, Jimenez in his 20s. You

heard Jimenez's father say, "I know the defendant as 'Disco,'

as 'Jay,'" as all of those other names, "but I also know him as

'Jaimito.'" That's how close their families are.

You know that Jimenez looks up to this defendant.

That's what Randy Carbonell came in here and told you. And

that matters because that's why the defendant had him holding

the gun. That's why the defendant didn't do this crime

himself. He had his nephew do it. He had his nephew do the

shooting thinking that he would get away.

Jimenez lied to the FBI about knowing the defendant.

He later said, "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." 

But when the FBI first says, "Hey, you know Jaime

Serrano, you know a guy Jaime Serrano, really?" 

"No." That's Jimenez's answer to the FBI.

The defendant lied to the FBI about being in his

apartment the date that they came to execute a federal search

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