Miami-Dade authorities have arrested a father and his female partner who they say were conducting an armed drug deal in a home just steps away from a Miami school in a quiet Coral Way neighborhood west of Brickell.
The detectives reported the operation was taking place while a 10-year-old boy was living in the home.
The boy's father, Mike Rodriguez, 29, and his female partner, 22-year-old Christy Lopez were arrested Wednesday.
During a home search, authorities allegedly uncovered:
- A fully loaded Glock handgun hiding behind a poster of Marilyn Monroe
- A backpack filled with marijuana in the laundry room
- A backpack filled with cocaine behind the fireplace
- Marijuana hidden in Tupperware inside the master bedroom closet
- Bundles of cash grouped with rubber bands and a Ziploc bag in the master bedroom closet
- Several .40 caliber rounds
- Remains of a hydroponics marijuana grow lab on the property
Records show it wasn't the first time Rodriguez's son was in an environment authorities considered unsafe. The Florida Department of Children and Families was involved.
Court records show Rodriguez's paternity case in family court was filed after the boy's mother, Jessica Alfonseca, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm in a 2016 domestic violence case involving another man.
Rodriguez and Lopez were being held without bond Thursday.
They each face charges of:
- Cocaine trafficking
- Marijuana and cocaine possession with the purpose of trafficking
- Displaying a firearm while committing a felony
- Money laundering with unlawful proceeds
- Child abuse with no great bodily harm