Pembroke Pines man shot dead in car dealership

Investigation Continues Into Car Dealership Murder

Employees Describe Owner As “Good Guy”

Neighboring Business Owners Nervous With Suspect Loose

Vitaly Kardash was shot to death in his used car dealership Tuesday morning. Miami-Dade Corrections/CBS

NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) ―There are still more questions than answers about the shooting of car dealership owner Vitaly Kardash, and now local business owners say they are concerned because crime has been rising recently in their neighborhood and they would like to receive more information from Miami-Dade Police about the shooting itself.

So far there have been no arrests and no suspects named in connection with the murder of a used car dealership owner, shot to death in his business Tuesday morning. Twelve hours later the body of Vitaly Kardash, 37, was rolled on a gurney to a waiting vehicle from the medical examiner’s office. With the criminal still on the loose, neighboring business are concerned about their safety.

Miami-Dade Police say Kardash was shot inside his dealership, Affordable Cars, at 9700 N.W. 7th Ave. around 9:45 a.m. They are not saying how or why he was shot; in fact, they are releasing few details about this case.

Police say they have no suspects. They say the motive is not known. There are no indications the owner was robbed. Affordable Cars remained closed to most customers. Two mechanics were seen working on cars in back. The front of the business has shutters on it. Three employees who entered the business late Wednesday afternoon indicated they were told not to talk about this case.

“I’d like to know if it was a robbery or a burglary in progress. Was Kardash being targeted for personal reasons?” asked Ann Knowles, an officer manager at Tax-Mack, USA Inc., of 9820 N.W. 7th Ave. Knowles has worked at Tax-Mack for more than 15 years and her business is one block away from where Kardash was killed. Her business employs as many as 12 people during the peak of tax season and she says several employees have been victimized by robbers and car burglars. “So we would like to see that more is being done to curb crime. We would like to see more patrols by Miami-Dade Police. We have a bunch of women who work late and they need to feel safe when they come out of work.”

Miami-Dade Police say they could not immediately respond to the concerns of business owners. They welcome requests for more police patrols and say they’ll consider beefing up the patrols once they get a formal request.

One block south of where Kardash was shot, Barry Menscher has run Pinewood Plumbing Supply for 38 years. “I was very concerned about the security of the neighborhood,” said Menscher. “Here a man was killed just after nine in the morning. I am very concerned about the safety of the neighborhood in general and the lack of police protection and what police are doing about it. A cab driver was killed just a few blocks away some three weeks ago and there have been a lot of burglaries and car break ins. Something has to be done. There have been problems in this neighborhood year after year. Lately, it’s gotten worse.”

Brandon Gibson told CBS4 his boss was a “good guy who was always helping people.” Gibson said he was on his way to work when a co-worker told him that his boss had been shot and killed inside the business.

“From what I was told, my boss was dead inside the business. It’s messed up,” said Gibson. “My co-worker gave me the signal that my boss was dead. Oh, man.”

CBS4′s Peter D’Oench asked if Kardash was killed by an intruder.

“From what I’m hearing,” Gibson said, “that’s what happened. I feel bad. He was a good guy. He would do anything for you.”

The victim’s friends said Kardash was married and had children. Police say he was lived in Pembroke Pines. At his gated community, a security guard who called his home told us the phone had not been answered for the past two days.

Sam Reiter was a friend of Kardash and also his landlord.

“He was a nice fellow,” Reiter said. I’ve known him for years. He was my tenant. I’m stunned. We were such good friends. If I needed a car, I’d get one from him. If he needed a car, he’d get one from me. Oh, God.”

Miami-Dade Police scoured storm drains in their search for evidence. But they were delayed in going inside the business because it took some time to get a search warrant.

Affordable Cars had at least one surveillance camera outside the business. Police hope videotape from that camera will help them find the suspect.

Kardash owned Affordable Cars for more than 10 years, according to Gibson who has worked there as a detailer for three years. He said in his time there, he’s not seen any serious problems. He also said he knew of no one who had a grudge against the victim.

Police say if you know anything, call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.

Posted by Ovi on March 19, 2010 - 11:19 pm . Filed under Local. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry