Man faces charges years after 2 murders in Miami’s Overtown

MIAMI — A 28-year-old man appeared in Miami-Dade County court on Thursday to face charges in two murders that happened when he was 25.

Detectives used Instagram, cell phone data, surveillance video, and a rental car to identify Ernest Rowell as one of two shooters, records show.

Detectives accused Rowell of fatally shooting Deandre McKeithen and Rayford Shipman III on Nov. 6, 2022, in Miami, records show.

“Miami Real Time Crime Center cameras captured the incident,” a detective wrote about the two shooters arriving and fleeing in a black Mercedes-Benz four-door sedan with a Miami Heat license plate, according to an arrest warrant.

A ShotSpotter alert shortly after 8:25 p.m. prompted police to find McKeithen, 28, and Shipman, 37, lying on the sidewalk in Overtown, records show.

Fire rescue personnel took both men to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center. A doctor pronounced McKeithen dead about 30 minutes later, and Shipman shortly after 9:05 p.m., records show.

A crime scene technician found 28 spent 7.62 mm bullet casings at the corner of Northwest Fifth Avenue and Eighth Street, according to police.

Detectives used surveillance video to track the owner of the Mercedes-Benz and cell phone records to connect Rowell to Boynton Beach and the crime scene in Miami, according to police.

On June 8, 2023, Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office deputies searched Rowell’s home.

A detective seized an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 13, and the U.S. Secret Service assisted with the forensic investigation, according to police

On Aug. 3, 2023, a Miami detective received a selfie from one of the iPhones. It had been taken shortly after 9:20 p.m. on Nov. 7 in Miami, according to a warrant

“The hoodie matches the description,” a detective wrote about the selfie and Miami Real Time Crime Center surveillance video, according to an arrest warrant issued in Miami-Dade on Dec. 19.

Miami-Dade prosecutors filed a case against Rowell on Jan. 14, and he was arrested on Wednesday, according to county court records.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Rowell shortly before midnight on Wednesday, and he faced two counts of first-degree murder when he appeared in bond court on Thursday afternoon.

A judge denied him bond, and he remained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Thursday night.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Carlos H. Gamez was set to preside over the case.

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

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