‘Terrorist Boyz’ gang member convicted in murder cases. But he’s now free on probation
Weeks after being acquitted in one murder case, a member of the ‘Terrorist Boyz’ gang has been freed from a Miami jail after striking a plea deal for probation in two other cases.
Benson Cadet, 39, left Miami-Dade custody this week after spending 20 years behind bars. He’s not free and clear. Cadet pleaded guilty to murder and will remain on probation for 20 years. If he violates his probation, Cadet faces up to life in prison.
His defense attorney, Scott Sakin, said “the Benson Cadet saga has finally come to a close.”
“Here’s a guy who went from looking at the death penalty years ago, to now out on probation,” Sakin said. “He wants to work. He wants to be a regular guy. He’s almost 40 years old. Don’t forget, he was 18 or 19 when all this started. He had a lot to learn, about smart phones, about streaming.”
Miami-Dade prosecutors said Cadet was part of a gang war that roiled North Miami and North Miami Beach in 2002. The gang was accused of plowing a car through the front door of a Broward County gun shop, stealing 33 guns and then mounting “missions” to hunt rivals over the ensuing months. The rash of violence — at least a dozen people were murdered — alarmed city leaders and led to the creation of a police task force.
READ MORE: Reputed North Miami ‘Terrorist Boyz’ gang member acquitted of murder, faces other trials
A grand jury indicted five gang members in 2007. By 2016, the Terrorist Boyz gang case earned the notoriety of being the most expensive death-penalty case in recent Florida history.
Those indicted were Cadet, Frantzy Jean-Marie, Max Daniel, Robert St. Germain and the suspected ringleader, Johnny Charles, also known as the “Angel of Death.” St. Germain took a plea deal and was sentenced to 12 years behind bars. Jean-Marie lost at trial and is serving a life sentence.
Charles and Daniel are still awaiting trial. No matter what happens in Daniel’s case, he won’t get out of prison until the early 2070s — he’s serving a 63-year federal conviction for cocaine dealing and weapon crimes.
As for Cadet, he has been in custody since 2002, when he was charged federally on drug and weapons charges (he was convicted and his sentence is over). In the state case, Cadet was accused of taking part in four murders and over a dozen attempted murders in North Miami-Dade.
Cadet’s first trial, in 2019, ended with him being convicted of one count of conspiracy, acquitted of several other charges and a jury deadlocking on a slew of other counts.
Last month, in what prosecutors considered their strongest case, Cadet was tried for the 2002 murder of Jerry St. Pierre, although the state introduced evidence about several other murders. His defense attorney argued the “false testimony” came from “cooperating witnesses and one jailhouse snitch.”
At a trial that lasted about a month, jurors acquitted Cadet. With the remaining cases now weakened, prosecutors instead opted for the plea deal, to ensure Cadet remains under court supervision and is convicted for his involvement in the gang’s activities.
