Man accused of shooting Cuban singer 'El Taiger' in Miami jail after fleeing to New York

Milena Malaver, Miami Herald on Nov 7, 2024

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MIAMI — The man accused of shooting Cuban reggaeton star José Manuel Carbajal Zaldívar, known as El Taiger, in the head was extradited to Miami-Dade County on Wednesday after being arrested in New York.

On Oct. 29, Damian Valdez-Galloso, 49, was arrested in Brooklyn by federal marshals on an out-of-state warrant for failing to register as a sex offender, Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said.

Police say he is a convicted felon for sexual battery on a minor in 2013.

Zaldívar, 37, a singer with more than a million Instagram followers and over 385 million YouTube views, was found shot in a car in Miami on Oct. 3. Following a month-long investigation, Miami detectives determined Valdez-Galloso was the alleged shooter, according to Morales.

The Miami-Dade County Police Department has since taken over the investigation and has shed light on the singer’s final moments.

At about 5:30 a.m Thursday, Oct. 3, Zaldívar was standing at the front door of a house in Hialeah, when Valdez-Galloso suddenly opened the door and shot the singer in the head, according to his arrest report. Valdez-Galloso exited the home through a side door and began to drag Zaldívar by the ankles and carried him into a 2023 Mercedes Benz, police say.

He then began to clean up the crime scene and changed clothes as Zaldívar lay bleeding in the car, police say.

Around 6 a.m., Valdez-Galloso drove Zaldívar to the area around Northwest Ninth Avenue and Northwest 17th Street. First responders arrived about 45 minutes later and rushed him to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he ultimately died on Oct. 10

The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the reggaeton singer’s death a homicide.

Valdez-Galloso fled to New York where he was taken into custody and provided officials with a statement about what took place at the Hialeah home. It is unclear how Valdez-Galloso and Zaldívar knew each other.

He faces charges of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He remained in Turner Guilford Correctional Center as of Thursday morning.

His bond for tampering with evidence and failing to register as a sex offender is $12,500 but his bond for other charges are “to be set”, according to jail records.