James Robert Mills, Jr., Attempted Murder, Florida 2023

A hail of gunfire from a parked car in the Homestead-Miami area nearly struck a trio of law enforcement officers earlier this year, according to a federal indictment unsealed today.

James Robert Mills, Jr., 21, of Miami, is charged with attempting to murder two FBI task force officers and a City of Homestead police officer, as well as using a deadly weapon to forcibly assault them and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

The indictment alleges that on January 31, the three officers were driving an unmarked white sports utility vehicle in the Homestead-Miami area when Mills pointed a gun at them from an open backseat window of a parked car. He then fired at the SUV as it drove by.

The officers’ SUV accelerated, trying to evade the gunshots, and managed to lose the suspects’ vehicle without being wounded or firing their weapons. Crime scene investigators recovered approximately 24 nine-millimeter (9 mm) bullet casings and one projectile from the scene.

An investigation into the shooting led law enforcement officers to Mills, whom they arrested following a search of a Miami residence where he was staying. According to the charging documents, officers recovered a Glock 17, 9 mm pistol with an extended magazine from the attic of the house, where Mills stashed it after the January 31 shooting.

If convicted of all the offenses charged in the indictment, Mills faces a mandatory minimum term of ten years in federal prison for each of the three counts charging him with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Those sentences must run consecutively to all other sentences, meaning that if convicted on all counts, Mills faces a mandatory minimum term of 30 years’ imprisonment for the firearm counts, consecutive to any sentences imposed for attempted murder and forcible assault.

Yesterday, following a pre-trial detention hearing, a federal magistrate judge ordered that Mills remain in detention, without bond, pending his trial.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the charges.

FBI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from Homestead Police Department and Miami-Dade Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwayne E. Williams is prosecuting the case.

Related Federal Cases