More than three decades after a violent bank robbery in North Miami left a police officer dead, the gunman responsible for firing the fatal shot is scheduled to face execution this winter.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant on October 30, directing state prison officials to execute 56-year-old Ricardo Gonzalez for the 1992 killing of Officer Steven Bauer. Warden Randall Polk has scheduled the execution for 6 p.m. on December 1 at Florida State Prison in Raiford.
The case traces back to the morning of January 3, 1992, when four armed men forced their way into the Kislak National Bank. Gunfire erupted almost immediately. Bauer sustained a gunshot wound to the chest, and the robbers fled after seizing a tray of cash. Gonzalez later received a $1,500 share of the stolen funds.
Miami police located Gonzalez approximately two weeks later, pulling him over just as he departed from his residence. During subsequent interviews with investigators, he admitted to firing his weapon inside the bank lobby, though he maintained that he aimed low and intended only to strike Bauer in the leg. Forensic evidence contradicted his account, confirming that the fatal bullet, which struck the officer directly in the chest, came from Gonzalez’s firearm.
A Dade County jury convicted Gonzalez in the summer of 1994 on charges that included first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. Although appellate judges later vacated his original death sentence due to procedural errors, prosecutors brought the penalty phase before a new jury in August 1998. That jury voted 8-4 to recommend the death penalty, and Circuit Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. returned Gonzalez to death row one month later.
Over the following two decades, Gonzalez’s defense team challenged the outcome across multiple state and federal courts, citing co-defendants who received life sentences, evidence of head trauma, and remorse that Gonzalez expressed during a court hearing. Judges consistently denied those petitions, leaving the death sentence intact.
With those legal challenges exhausted, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier formally notified Governor DeSantis that the state was prepared to proceed.
“The record has been reviewed and there are no stays of execution issued by any court of competent jurisdiction in this cause,” Uthmeier stated in an October 30 review letter, further noting that the case file was legally sufficient to support the warrant.
Barring a last-minute stay issued by a federal court, Gonzalez will be escorted into Florida’s execution chamber on the first Tuesday of December.
Leave a Reply