New York driver who served as ‘architect’ in plot to kill Miami car designer to the stars learns his fate

News

from Richard Pollina

A New York man convicted of flying to Miami and driving a would-be hitman to kill a famous car designer learned his fate Monday for being the “architect” of the botched assassination plot.

Jamie Serrano, 46, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for conspiring to shoot Alex Vega in August 2019, according to the Justice Department.

Serrano is the second person convicted of his involvement in the brazen shooting.

The shooter, Julian Jimenez, 27, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison on Nov. 3 for shooting Vega three times as he backed his black Range Rover into his garage.

Serrano, the mastermind behind the botched hit, had rented a vehicle after arriving in Florida on August 21, 2019, to cover up his surveillance of the victim while monitoring his target for four days.

On Aug. 27, the day of the shooting, Serrano traded in his rental car for a new one and later drove Jimenez to Vega’s Kendall neighborhood, the DOJ said.

Donning a surgical mask and gloves while holding a firearm, Jimenez ran up behind Vega as he entered his garage and opened fire, intending to kill the car designer.

The killer fired eight rounds at the victim – hitting him three times – then fled the scene, where he ran back to Serrano’s parked car and jumped into the trunk of the rental vehicle as the two men fled.

Vega required surgery to remove the projectiles left in his body, the DOJ said.

Both men were arrested in August 2022 for the botched hit.

Although Serrano was not the shooter, the jury decided that he played a crucial role in carrying out the near-fatal hit because he bought the plane tickets from New York to Miami, rented the cars and obtained the .40-caliber handgun that Jimenez used shot Vega.

During the two-week trial, Judge Roy Altman repeatedly referred to Serrano as the “architect” of the plot to kill Vega, according to the Miami Herald.

The judge also said during the trial that Serrano was “associated with the people who wanted Mr. Vega dead.”

The two culprits did not reveal why and who sanctioned Vega’s hit.

A witness allegedly told the FBI that both men were offered $60,000 to carry out the hit, although this has not been confirmed, according to the Herald

Vega, a famous South Florida body shop owner, has a client list that includes stars such as Marc Anthony, Shakira, soccer legend David Beckham, Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, Floyd Mayweather and MLB stars David Ortiz and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. .

The would-be killer Jimenez’s father, Marcos, is one of Marc Anthony’s sound engineers and an occasional property manager, according to court documents obtained by the publication.

Anthony, who is not suspected of involvement in the crime, has reportedly become good friends with Vega after repairing several of the music star’s cars in recent years.

Serrano also dabbled in the music industry, representing and promoting various artists, according to the publication.

“If I could turn back time, I would,” Serrano told Altman during Tuesday’s sentencing.

Both men will be released after five years of serving their sentences.

Vega attended Tuesday’s hearing and even spoke briefly before the sentencing, urging that Serrano be slapped with the maximum sentence allowed by law — sharing that the ordeal has not only hurt him physically, but that he and his family are living in fear since the shooting, and need a bodyguard when they leave the house.

“I want this man to see his last day in a cell,” Vega told the judge.