Miami Duo Found Guilty of Kidnapping and Murder

MIAMI - On Dec. 17., James Edward Daniels, 59, and Frederick Eugene Rudolph, 69, of Miami, Fla., were found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death, multiple counts of kidnapping resulting in death, and kidnapping, at trial before U.S. District Court Judge Roy K. Altman.

On Dec. 5, 2020, Daniels, Rudolph, and other co-conspirators kidnapped three victims from a truck yard in Opa Locka, Fla. They bound and tortured the victims, duct-taped their eyes, and threw them into the back of a rented van after stealing the victims' drugs. They drove around the city for hours before taking the victims to an abandoned house in Opa-Locka and attempting to execute them by shooting the three victims. Two of the victims died, while one miraculously survived.

Daniels stole jewelry from one of the murdered victims, and all the defendants benefitted by receiving drugs, money, or both, in exchange for their participation in the conspiracy.

A third defendant, Herbert Barr, 56, pled guilty to kidnapping on Nov. 26.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, Director Stephanie V. Daniels of the Miami-Dade Police Department, and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, made the announcement.

FBI Miami Division Homestead Resident Agency, Miami-Dade Police Department Homicide Bureau, and DEA Homestead Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yara Dodin, Nardia Haye, and Katie Guthrie are prosecuting the case.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 10, 2025, before Judge Altman. Daniels and Rudolph face up to life in prison, criminal fines of up to $250,000 as to each count, and up to a lifetime on supervised release.

This investigation was carried out by members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. The South Florida HIDTA, established in 1990, is made up of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who, cooperatively, target the region's drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations. The South Florida HIDTA is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsors a variety of initiatives focused the nation's illicit drug trafficking threats. For more information regarding HIDTA visit https://www.dea.gov/operations/hidta.

You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-20431.

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