A man was found guilty Tuesday of attempted manslaughter in the 2024 shooting of a Sunrise Police officer.
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Romuliss Hicks, 34, had been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Det. Robert Padron as Padron and other officers executed an arrest warrant on Jan. 2, 2024.
Video from Padron’s police body-worn camera showed the moment he was hit and dropped to the ground at a busy bus stop in Fort Lauderdale along Northwest 22nd Avenue near Broward Boulevard.
Padron was shot in the leg, and Hicks was also shot during the confrontation.
After four days of trial, in which the defense didn’t call a single witness, jurors convicted Hicks of the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter.
“This is what Mr. Hicks should’ve been charged with, this is an accurate definition of what happened,” assistant public defender Dave Martellino said.
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Hicks is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and the jury will return Wednesday so prosecutors can present witnesses in hat case.
Hicks, who is already serving a 50-year sentence from a separate trial involving the shooting of his then-girlfriend, faces 15 years in prison on the attempted manslaughter conviction.
He wasn’t present during the trial but the judge is pushing his attorneys to make sure he’s present on Wednesday.
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