Thought I'd get in/ a post about the homicide of graffiti and tattoo artist Jonathan "Ynot" Corso, who was run over twice in the parking lot at Club Eden in Davie. A colleague from down south, Gus Garcia-Roberts, has broken some new ground on the story.
There was a lot of speculation about who was behind the crime. Answers have come to light after the arrest of the man who was at the wheel when Corso, photographed at right, was mowed down. But it wasn't the driver, Reynaldo Rodriguez, who triggered the deadly early-morning melee.
Inside, see what happened and who really started the fight that would end Corso's life on his 21st birthday.
From police reports and Miami New Times:
It started with a chronic thief and woman abuser named Francisco Chollet, 33. This is a guy who nine years ago was charged with breaking into dorm rooms at the University of Florida and fondling girls in their sleep. He did two years in prison for that and has had five domestic-violence claims filed against him in Broward County, including allegations that he beat up the mother of his child, once while holding the baby in his arms. "He would push me, choke me, and hit me...," the victim wrote in an injunction for protection. "He has threatened to kill me and I do not want my child to be [exposed to] this type of behavior."
Chollet pulled up to Corso, who had long dreadlocks, as he was walking out of the strip club with three friends. "What's up?" Corso asked him.
"I thought you were a bitch," Chollet said.
This naturally led to an exchange of words whereupon Chollet spit on Corso, who responded in kind. Corso, his three friends, and Chollet and his compatriot Reynaldo Rodriguez began a "physical altercation." During the fight, Rodriguez climbed behind the wheel and ran over Corso, not once but twice. The Escalade's recorder showed that Rodriguez accelerated full-throttle in the parking lot and was going 16 mph when it struck Corso, who was 75 feet away.
Chollet wasn't charged. Rodriguez is charged with vehicular manslaughter and is free on $2,500 bond.
