Firefighter Paramedic arrested in drug case

 

 

A second Monroe County Fire Rescue Firefighter Paramedic assigned to the Trauma Star helicopter program has been arrested for tampering with evidence and official misconduct.

 

The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit.

 

“Trauma Star is a vital, life-saving program. We will continue to hold those who obstruct this criminal investigation accountable,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay.

 

Harold Jaesson Perez, 34, of Miami, lied to Detectives about his knowledge of an ongoing investigation into the theft of narcotics from the Trauma Star hangar. Perez also deleted text messages from his phone that were evidence in a criminal investigation.

 

Perez’s arrest follows the September arrest of former Chief Flight Nurse Lynda Rusinowski, 56, who was charged with two counts of grand theft of a controlled substance, two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, and two counts of official misconduct as well as the arrest of Damian Roberto Suarez, 44, of Miami, who was also charged with tampering with evidence and official misconduct.

 

The investigation remains ongoing.