A Cuban national and convicted drug trafficker with an extensive rap sheet in four states is now behind bars for a jealousy-fueled murder in Miami.
The suspect, William Serrano Domenech, is accused of fatally shooting a man Aug. 17 in northwest Miami-Dade County. He also has prior felony convictions for cocaine sales and a weapons offense.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office charged Serrano Domenech, 49, with second-degree murder for allegedly killing 42-year-old Raul Aballe and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He remains in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a bond status of “to be set.”
Despite being in the country illegally, Serrano Domenech appears to have moved around, racking up arrests for numerous crimes in Florida, New Mexico, Tennessee and Michigan over the last 20-plus years.
U.S. Immigration and Customs also lodged a detainer for Serrano Domenech, who had a final order of removal issued in 2002.
Serrano Domenech told authorities he entered the United States through Florida in August 1995. Although ICE took him into custody in December 2023, the Biden administration did not deport him, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.
“He has a rap sheet a mile long,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “This dangerous criminal should have never been in our country, and had it not been for the Biden Administration releasing him from ICE custody in 2023, Raul Aballe would still be alive.”
Serrano Domenech apparently fled Michigan after convictions for possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute an unknown quality of marijuana, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, and felon in possession of a firearm, DHS said.
In Florida, Serrano Domenech’s criminal history includes a conviction for a weapons offense and arrests for vehicle theft, burglary, driving without a license and driving with a suspended license.
He also has prior arrests for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and bribery of a witness in New Mexico, as well as arrests for unlawful possession of a weapon, resisting arrest and theft in Tennessee.
His criminality has now escalated to murder, authorities allege, in what was an apparent act of jealousy. The shooting occurred around 5:35 p.m. Aug. 17 in the 3300 block of NW 38th Street on the city’s northwest side, a few miles from Miami International Airport, the Miami Herald reported.
According to the arrest affidavit, Serrano Domenech walked up and started “socializing with the witness” before Aballe showed up. The two men got into an argument, which then turned physical after Serrano Domenech started slapping and punching the victim.
Serrano Domenech then allegedly pulled out a gun from a fanny pack and shot Aballe in the stomach before fleeing the scene, sheriff’s deputies said.
Aballe was taken to a local hospital but later died of his injuries. The witness told investigators that Aballe was not armed and did not initiate the altercation.
Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrested Serrano Domenech the next day, Aug 18. He reportedly ducked into a neighbor’s yard to avoid police, but while being detained, said “I’m Willy, the guy you’re looking for from yesterday,” per the arrest affidavit.
Deputies also recovered a handgun inside a bag he was carrying, the Miami Herald reported.
During an interview with police, Serrano Domenech admitted to shooting Aballe, but he gave a different version of events from the witness who described what happened.
“The investigation revealed that the defendant and victim were involved in an ongoing dispute stemming from the defendant’s jealousy over the victim’s relationship with the witness,” detectives wrote in Domenech’s arrest affidavit.
The case is another example of the previous administration’s failed immigration policies and lack of enforcement, DHS said. In many cases, illegal immigrants are allowed to remain in the country for decades despite a litany of arrests and criminal convictions.
“ICE has lodged a detainer and will work with our partners in Florida to ensure that this killer is never again allowed back onto our streets,” Mullin said.
A DHS update on recent deportees included illegal immigrants convicted for vehicular homicide, sex assault on a child, aggravated sexual battery, driving under the influence and burglary.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE has been unleashed to deliver the American people’s mandate to arrest and remove illegal aliens,” Mullin said. “We will never apologize for putting
