MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 The loved ones of slain Cuban artist Jos\u00e9 Manuel Carbajal Zald\u00edvar, better known as \u201cEl Taiger,\u201d were in the courtroom on Tuesday in Miami-Dade County. <\/p>\n
Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n Dami\u00e1n Valdez-Galloso appeared before Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez accused of killing the 37-year-old \u201cCubat\u00f3n\u201d artist. <\/p>\n \u201cHe came out today, and he didn\u2019t even look at any of us. He knew we were present. The judge knew, and there was a room full of officers, they definitely know that our presence is here and it is felt,\u201d said Teresa Padr\u00f3n, the victim\u2019s former manager and friend. <\/p>\n Valdez-Galloso, 51, rejected a plea deal, and his defense attorney, Ricardo Hermida, told reporters in Spanish that it was a case of self-defense. <\/p>\n Facing more delays, as the possibility of a trial moved to next year, Padr\u00f3n and a group of supporters wore T-shirts calling for justice. <\/p>\n \u201cEven though we cannot speak and we cannot disrespect the court, our shirts speak for us,\u201d Padr\u00f3n said. <\/p>\n Detectives accused Valdez-Galloso of shooting Carbajal Zald\u00edvar in the head shortly after 5:25 a.m. on Oct. 3, 2024, in Hialeah, records show. <\/p>\n Police officers found Carbajal Zald\u00edvar injured at about 6:45 a.m. on Oct. 3, 2024, in a parked 2023 Mercedes-Benz sports utility vehicle near Northwest Ninth Avenue and 17th Street in Allapattah, records show. <\/p>\n A doctor pronounced Carbajal Zald\u00edvar dead on Oct. 10, 2024, at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office detectives investigated the homicide. <\/p>\n U.S. Marshals arrested Valdez-Galloso, a convicted felon, on Oct. 29, 2024, in Brooklyn, New York. He was extradited and booked on Nov. 6, 2024<\/a>, at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade. <\/p>\n Miami-Dade prosecutors filed a case against Valdez Galloso, a registered sex offender, on Nov. 7, 2024, and a grand jury indictment was filed on Jan. 29, 2025, court records show. <\/p>\n Valdez Galloso, who is under pre-trial detention, faced charges of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, tampering with physical evidence, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. His next status hearing is at 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 2. <\/p>\n