Miami Herald, The (FL)
April 15, 1996
SUSPECT SOUGHT IN POMPANO SLAYING
Author: D. AILEEN DODD Herald Staff Writer
A wild block party turned deadly for a Pompano Beach man Sunday morning.
Fernando Baldovinos, 23, of 417 Seventh Ave., was shot and killed at 12:30 a.m. in an
argument with another neighbor, said Pompano Beach police.
Baldovinos came to the party at 2680 NW 11th St. to help celebrate a friend's birthday.
The affair began as a small gathering of friends and family, but later became an "all-out
brawl," said Sandra King, Pompano Beach police spokeswoman.
As merengue music boomed and beer tabs popped, dozens of neighbors packed the
block to join the party. Soon the street was filled -- and tempers flared, police said.
Fights spread like wildfire.
"There were hundreds of beer cans and blood in different spots from the brawls," King
said.
In the midst of it, police said Ricardo Arzate, 20, of 2756 NW Fifth St., argued with
Baldovinos. Their altercation turned physical and Arzate allegedly pulled out a gun
strapped to his waist and fired, King said.
"Arzate shot Baldovinos in the forehead and stomach at point-blank range," she said.
The suspect fled the scene before police arrived. Police combed the neighborhood
Sunday, but could not find him.
Baldovinos' family members huddled together all afternoon waiting for news of an arrest.
"He was nice to everybody," his cousin, Demetrio Baldovinos of Fort Lauderdale, said
through an interpreter. "He liked Spanish music. He liked to dance."
Mike Baldovinos, 18, of Pompano Beach, another cousin, said he spent some time with
the victim Saturday.
"I don't know why somebody shot him," he said.
Anyone with information on Arzate's whereabouts should call detective John Bonadio at
786-4229.
Copyright (c) 1996 The Miami Herald