Five men posing as police abducted and killed a 22-year-old in North Miami, sheriff says
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The gist
Deputies say Devorise Carl Johnson, 21, and four others posed as police and killed Eddrick Malik Bethune, 22.
The case sits among several Florida police-impersonation schemes, from fake lights to cloned voices.
Background
Devorise Carl Johnson is a 21-year-old from southwest Miami-Dade arrested in the kidnapping and killing of Eddrick Malik Bethune, a 22-year-old abducted from the Aliro apartment complex in North Miami. According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office arrest report, Johnson and four other men waited outside the complex, then approached Bethune in a gray 2026 Toyota Camry with flashing red and blue lights, wearing black shirts marked "POLICE." The case is drawing attention alongside a wave of other Florida police-impersonation reports, including phone scams and an AI voice-cloning scheme.
How it unfolded
- Oct 3, 2026Johnson, 21, and four other men arrived at the Aliro apartment complex on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami around 9:41 p.m. and waited for Bethune to leave his building.
- Oct 4, 2026Around midnight, the five men approached Bethune, 22, in the parking lot in a gray 2026 Toyota Camry with flashing red and blue lights; the driver and front-seat passenger got out wearing shirts marked "POLICE." Bethune was abducted and later shot to death in southwest Miami-Dade County.
- Oct 14, 2026Johnson was arrested after being discharged from HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he had been treated for gunshot wounds from the incident; he was taken to the MDSO Homicide Bureau and invoked his right to an attorney.
- Oct 15, 2026News report published on the arrest and the charges against Johnson.
- Oct 19, 2026Report on scammers using AI to clone the voice of a real Osceola County Sheriff's Office captain in fake arrest warrant calls; the office estimates about 40 such impersonation cases this year.
- Oct 20, 2026Several South Florida law enforcement agencies warned in recent weeks about scammers impersonating officers to steal money; in Sunny Isles Beach a fraudster posing as a police lieutenant sent a fake notice to a potential victim.
- Oct 21, 2026Lauderhill Police officer Brian Louis Sguros was arrested and accused of fraud and falsifying official documents after allegedly taking over a South Florida house owned by Dennis Ionis West and using his identity for four years. Separately, two men impersonating officers were arrested over a robbery spree in Palm Beach County.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office arrest report says Johnson and four other men impersonated police officers, kidnapped Bethune and shot him to death, and lists charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping and falsely impersonating a police officer resulting in death.
- Caution
- Homestead Police and other South Florida departments say they will never call to demand payment for a ticket or warrant, and warn that scammers threaten arrest unless money is paid immediately.
- Official
- Osceola County Sheriff Chris Blackmon said scammers cloned a captain's voice and used his photo, and that his office will never call demanding money to resolve a warrant or missed jury duty.
- Expert
- Cybersecurity expert Perry Carpenter said anyone with a little curiosity can clone a voice with about 20 seconds of audio, and some systems can do it in under five seconds.
- Official
- Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar said the case of an officer charged with using his position to defraud the public is troubling because officers take an oath to protect the public.
Still unverified
The Palm Beach County robbery-spree reports state only that two men impersonating law enforcement officers were arrested in connection with the spree; no further details are given in the excerpts.