Miami-Dade prosecutors charge Hialeah man with El Taiger’s murder

MIAMI — The Miami-Dade County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday charged a 49-year-old Hialeah man with the murder of Jose Manuel Carbajal Zaldivar, better known as Cuban singer El Taiger. He was 37.

Damian Valdez-Galloso appeared in Miami-Dade County court to face an enhanced charge of first-degree murder. He was also charged with attempted tampering with physical evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

County inmate records show correctional officers have been holding Valdez-Galloso, a registered sex offender and convicted felon, without bail since his arrest on Nov. 6.

Police officers found El Taiger wounded in an SUV near Northwest Ninth Avenue and 17 Street on Oct. 3.

Firefighters took El Taiger to the nearby Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he died on October 10. Investigators accused Valdez-Galloso of shooting El Taiger in the head.

Investigators reported finding surveillance video that shows Valdez-Gallozo dragging the wounded singer across the porch and yard and placing him in the black SUV in which police found him.

Investigators found Valdez-Gallozo after he fled to New York. They asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.

This is a developing story.