Federal Bureau of Investigation

Miami Beach Police Identify Bank Robbery Suspect Killed by Officer as David Winesett

David Winesett was completing a 151-month sentence, plus three years of probation and had been relocated to the halfway house two days before the attempted robbery.

The bank robbery suspect who was allegedly wielding a razor when Miami Beach police shot and killed him Saturday escaped from a halfway house hours before the holdup, according to police.

David W. Winesett, 51, was serving a sentence for multiple bank robberies at the Riverside Christian Ministries halfway house in Little Havana and was in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons when he escaped Saturday, police said.

Winesett then tried to rob the Bank of America at 1414 Alton Road, passing a note that claimed he had a bomb, authorities said. Winesett fled the scene without taking any money, then went into a barbershop about a block away and refused to come out, according to police.

When he finally did, Winesett had removed his shirt and was holding a straight-edged razor, police said. An officer fired shots during the confrontation and Winesett was killed at the scene.

A bystander posted footage of the incident to the photo-sharing app Instagram, which shows officers surrounding the man, who is shot and falls to the ground.

"I know that there are videos out there in the media. If you slow those videos down carefully, you will see that the weapon is raised at the moment at which the shot takes place," Miami Beach Police Chief Daniel Oates said.

Winesett was completing a 151-month sentence, plus three years of probation and had been relocated to the halfway house two days before the attempted robbery, police said.

Police said Winesett's criminal history is extensive and includes arrests for theft and extortion in addition to bank robberies in 1997 and 2002 in Florida.

Miami-Dade County Police are investigating the shooting and the FBI and Miami Beach police are investigating the bank robbery, officials said.

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