Man arrested after shooting another man on Stock Island

One man is under arrest and another is in critical condition at a Miami hospital after a shooting incident on Stock Island.

The suspect is identified as 63 year old Dwight Engelhardt. The man he shot is 55 year old Charles Whitaker. The incident took place at 7:20 p.m. at the Hog Fish Marina, where the suspect lives on board a sailboat.

The victim and a male  friend, 46 year old Dirk Giagu, reportedly went to the Hog Fish Restaurant to have a few drinks. They brought Giagu’s dog with them. They arrived there in a dinghy, which they tied up next to the suspect’s sailboat. After having a beer and some Patron tequila, the two men and the dog got back onto the dinghy to return to the 3D Marina on Shrimp Road, where they both live.

Before they left, Whitaker got into an argument with a woman at the bar about the dog. She told Major Crimes Detective Bernardo Barrios she made a joking remark about stealing the dog and Whitaker took her seriously and got angry. He began to yell and swear at her.

At that point, Engelhardt became involved in the argument. He told Whitaker to leave because he was trespassing. A witness told Detective Barrios the suspect threatened several times to “kill” Whitaker. He then went into the cabin of his sailboat, returned with a .380 caliber handgun and began shooting.

Whitaker was struck three times in the area of his groin; the dog was struck once in the leg. The two men and the dog left the area and returned to the 3D Marina. The victim was later airlifted to Kendall Regional Hospital where he is in critical but stable condition. The dog was treated for its injury which was reportedly not life threatening.

The incident was called in to Sheriff’s dispatchers as shots fired and Deputy John Allen and Detective David Fernandez were first to arrive on the scene. They found the suspect still on his sailboat and took him into custody. The gun he used was also still on the boat. Several witnesses were on scene and gave statements to Detective Barrios about what took place.

Engelhardt was charged with attempted murder and he was booked into jail.

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