Miami police ID suspect, victim in fatal Edgewater trolley stabbing

Miami police identified the man accused of stabbing another man to death on a city trolley in the Edgewater neighborhood Tuesday afternoon. Investigators said it all appears to have started after the suspect felt the victim got too close to him as they were about to get off the bus.

Lamont Collins, 46, is facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of 49-year-old Adolf Bailey Bruce. Collins was listed in an arrest report as living at the Camillus House homeless organization in the Allapattah neighborhood, but a representative later clarified to Local 10 News that he was not living there at the time of his arrest.

11 p.m. report:

According to the Miami Police Department, the killing happened just before 2:45 p.m. at Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 29th Street.

Police said surveillance video shows Collins standing in front of the exit doors moments before the incident.

The report states that the video shows Bruce walking towards the front of the trolley, also wanting to get off. Police said Collins noticed Bruce and “charged at him, telling him to back off.”

That led to an argument where Collins pulled out a knife, police said. The report states that the trolley driver “parked the vehicle in the middle of the road, got up from his seat and helped de-escalate the situation.”

However, according to the report, the de-escalation would be short-lived. Police said Collins screamed, ”I’m not a coward; I’d rather die than go to jail,” and the argument continued as both stood near the exit.

Police said Bruce got upset at Collins, yelling, “Let’s go! Let’s go!” as he got close to him. After both put their hands on each other, Collins began stabbing Bruce, investigators said.

Bruce “raised his hands to protect himself from the knife and backed away from the defendant (Collins) towards the back of the trolley,” police wrote in the report.

“The defendant, with a knife in hand (right hand), continued to launch at the victim and repeatedly stabbed him. Both ended up falling onto a seat, at which time the defendant continued stabbing the victim,” the report states. “The victim eventually fell towards the walkway of the trolley, at which time the defendant stood over him and stabbed him several more times in the neck area. The defendant noticed the doors opened and ran away. The defendant was shortly apprehended and taken to the homicide office for further questioning.”

Friends of Bruce, also known as “Nash,” are devastated over his death. He worked at the Amara at Paraiso restaurant in Edgewater and used the trolley to get to work.

“We’re all a family and took care of each other so losing him is just something we can’t get over,” co-worker Butler Collins said, describing Bruce as “selfless.”

Detectives said after being apprehended, Collins waived his Miranda rights and gave them a statement. It was redacted from the publicly-released MPD report.

At his bond hearing Wednesday afternoon, another friend and coworker of Bruce’s asked that Collins be kept locked up.

“I request that bond not be given to this person,” Mateo Eraso said. “This loss has affected a great amount of people. A community. A loving community that lost a warrior. An absolute warrior that was taken from us.”

Ultimately, Collins was ordered held without bond.

Loved ones created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Bruce’s burial, and it can be found by clicking here.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a clarification regarding the suspect’s residence.