The two suspects in a deadly Miami Beach hotel shooting attacked their victims with pepper spray before shooting one and escaping out a back door.
Miami Beach police arrested the pair in the shooting death of a Russian tourist Saturday at the Miami Beach Resort & Spa. A hotel surveillance camera captured them fleeing down a back stairs, police said.
Duran A. Reed, 25, of Miami, and Turaine Depri Burgess, 21, of Millsboro, Del., are charged with second degree murder and armed robbery in the death of 38-year-old Roman Gubanov, of Tver, Russia.
Investigators say the shooting was drug-related.
Here's what happened, according to police records:
Gubanov and his friend, Andrey Orlov, approached Reed and Burgess the day before the shooting, looking to buy cocaine.
They agreed to make a drug deal the next day at Gubanov and Orlov's 11th floor hotel room.
Reed and Burgess arrived as planned, then quickly left, saying they would return in 20 minutes with the cocaine.
Two minutes later, they forced their way into the room, brandishing a gun and a can of pepper spray, and stole $500 in cash and a camera from the hotel table.
When Gubanov tried to stop them, Reed sprayed both victims with the pepper spray, which caused a choking odor that forced authorities to evacuate the hotel.
Gubanov then grabbed a whiskey bottle to defend himself against Burgess, but Reed shot him in the chest. Burgess was accidentally shot in the left hand during the scuffle.
The pair ran down the hotel's back stairwell and were long gone by the time police arrived.
When police arrived at the hotel about 10 p.m. Saturday, they found Gubanov dead of a gunshot wound to the chest, and a distressed Orlov covered in blood.
Security cameras and witness interviews led police to Reed and Burgess, Miami Beach police Det. Kenny Matthews said.
The shooting and accompanying suspicious smell led officials to odor the hotel's 1,000 guests to evacuate for several hours as they investigated.
Matthews said both Burgess and Reed have a criminal record.
Miami Beach police spokeswoman Deborah Doty expressed regret about the hotel patrons whose night was interrupted -- including the Prime Minister of Belize and a 100-person wedding party that has just gotten started.
``We had to make sure that hotel was safe before we let anybody back inside,'' she said.