Felon tries to kill drug dealer over $10 dispute in Miami’s Little Havana

MIAMI — A 33-year-old wounded victim, who admitted to being a drug dealer, told Miami detectives that his 65-year-old attacker was a customer who had “owed him $10,” according to a police report.

The victim reported that when Manuel Lopez came back to buy drugs from him and handed him $10, he kept them, according to police. A public stabbing followed on the morning of Jan. 13 in Miami’s Little Havana.

During the investigation into the stabbing, Miami detectives used video from surveillance cameras at several businesses along West Flagler Street to piece together a timeline, records show.

A key surveillance video shows Lopez, who is homeless, stealing a “beer can and a kitchen knife” from The Family Dollar, at 1055 West Flagler St., shortly after 8 a.m. on Jan. 13, according to a detective’s report.

The victim told detectives that after an argument over the $10, Lopez “approached” him and asked “if he wanted some beer,” but he declined, according to police.

A witness reported seeing Lopez standing on the sidewalk, pulling out a knife from his sleeve, and stabbing the victim along West Flagler Street, near Northwest 12 Avenue, according to a police report.

Surveillance video from a cafeteria shows “the victim running” shortly after 8:05 a.m., and Lopez “right behind … chasing … while holding a knife in his right hand,” according to a detective’s report.

The witness reported Lopez stopped chasing the victim, and stood at a cafeteria on Flagler Street and 12 Avenue for about 10 to 15 minutes, according to a police report.

Surveillance video from a camera at the Sabor Nica Restaurant, at 49 NW 12 Ave., showed Lopez shortly after 8:10 a.m. walking northbound along 12th Avenue, according to a detective’s report.

Miami police officers and fire rescue personnel responded shortly after 8:20 a.m. on Jan. 13 after the victim collapsed near an ATM outside of the Truist Bank branch at 100 NW 12 Ave., according to police.

Fire rescue personnel took the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery, according to police.

Lopez, a felon with six convictions in the 90s in Miami-Dade County, has been in and out of prison since 1985, according to his profile with the Florida Department of Corrections.

His most recent arrests before the stabbing had been for petit theft cases in 2023 and 2024 in Miami, county court records show.

When Miami police officers arrested Lopez at 3:40 a.m. on Tuesday at West Flagler Street and 15th Avenue in Little Havana, he was carrying “narcotics paraphernalia” and clothing “with possible DNA evidence (blood),” according to a police arrest report.

Miami-Dade correctional deputies booked Lopez shortly after 4:35 a.m. on Tuesday at the Turner Guilford Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

On Wednesday afternoon, Lopez, who was born in Cuba, had a warrant for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold, police and inmate records show.

Lopez also faced four charges in three new pending cases, according to Miami-Dade Court court and inmate records.

For the stabbing, Lopez faced a felony charge of attempted murder, and a judge denied him bond on Wednesday.

For the findings during his arrest, Lopez faced charges of cocaine possession and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use. His bond was $1,500.

For the retail theft case, Lopez faced a charge of petit theft with two or more convictions. His bond was $2,500.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch was set to preside over the cases.

Related story: Police: Man stabbed multiple times in Miami; collapses near ATM

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

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