Suspect arrested in group beating of man at Lauderhill ‘drug house’ in 2019

Years after a man was beaten by multiple people outside of a “drug house” in Lauderhill and dropped off at the hospital where he would later die, one of the men allegedly involved has been arrested.

Paulesky Mauney, 47, was dropped off at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale on the afternoon of Oct. 20, 2019, and was pronounced dead 10 days later from multiple blunt traumatic injuries, the South Florida Sun Sentinel previously reported. At the time, police were still investigating to determine where he was beaten and by whom, and who took him to the hospital.

Rashaid Labonte, 42, of Lauderhill, was arrested Thursday in connection with the 2019 attack, court and jail records show. Jose Demond Coleman, 46, of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested in October 2021, just less than two years after the attack.

It was unclear Monday night whether a third suspect who is identified in court records as Brandon Williams, 39, of Plantation, is currently in custody and whether police are still searching for other suspects.

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It took over four years after the attack for police to arrest Labonte “due to the inability to locate the suspects,” a Lauderhill Police spokesperson said in an email Monday. The department could not provide further details about the investigation or arrests “due to the case still being active.”

Coleman dropped Mauney off at the hospital’s emergency room shortly after 3 p.m. Oct. 20, 2019. Fort Lauderdale Police began investigating because it was unclear where the attack happened, according to a probable cause affidavit for Labonte’s arrest.

Fort Lauderdale Police determined that Mauney was possibly beaten at a “drug house” in Lauderhill, the affidavit said. Lauderhill Police took over the investigation after learning Mauney was assaulted in the 600 block of Northwest 34th Terrace, at an address that was included in an active narcotics investigation.

At least four different witnesses were at the home when Mauney was attacked by multiple men, according to the affidavit.

A witness told officers Mauney was attacked for allegedly stealing $2,000 from Coleman’s “drug house,” the affidavit said. Surveillance cameras on the outside of the home recorded the attack, and T.W. watched a live feed of it from inside the home, which showed two men punch Mauney at least a few times.

The witness told officers she “was unable to continue watching” the attack on the video but was still at the home when Coleman allegedly told Labonte and Williams to “beat up” Mauney, the affidavit said.

Two days after Mauney was brought to the hospital, Lauderhill officers executed a search warrant in connection with their narcotics investigation for a digital video recorder that was in the home, the affidavit said. It showed video of multiple men repeatedly punching and kicking Mauney outside the home.

Mauney fell out of the camera’s view during the attack, the affidavit said, and Williams could allegedly be seen “swinging what appeared to be a shovel in a downward motion” where Mauney had fallen. Another video showed Coleman standing under a car port, pointing at Mauney while talking to Labonte, Williams and other men.

Labonte and Williams followed Mauney to the back of the home, where they repeatedly punched him, the affidavit said. Though slightly out of the camera’s view, Labonte and Williams were seen in the video punching in the area where Mauney fell, the affidavit said, while another unidentified man was seen kicking where Mauney fell.

Shortly after, Labonte was seen with a shovel, walking away from the area where Mauney fell. Multiple men took money off of Mauney, which Coleman then took, and an unidentified man cleaned out Mauney’s wallet in front of Williams and Labonte. Williams and another unidentified man took what was inside the wallet, according to the affidavit.

Mauney stood up and attempted to walk to where the men had emptied his wallet, and Labonte was seen in the video pointing what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun at him, the affidavit said. Williams then approached Mauney and punched him in the face, knocking him down again before he was dragged inside. Williams and multiple other men continued to give Coleman the items from Mauney’s wallet.

A second witness who was in the home told officers he looked out the window and saw multiple men beating Mauney. He heard someone say, “Where the money at?” and saw one of the men take money out of Mauney’s pocket, according to the affidavit.

The witness said he saw the “heavy set” man then hit Mauney with a shovel repeatedly, the affidavit said. He could not identify Labonte or Williams in a photo line-up, but the description he gave of the suspects matched Labonte and Williams, the affidavit said.

A third witness who was inside the home said he saw Mauney lying unconscious on the ground outside with Williams standing over him when he went to close the windows, according to the affidavit.

A fourth witness told officers that Coleman was upset about the profit from a narcotics sale being $2,000 short, according to the affidavit. He told officers he heard Coleman say, “Shit short. These two right here, y’all handle that,” to Williams and Labonte, and both of the men then followed Mauney to the back of the home.

The fourth witness alleged it was Williams who hit Mauney in the head with a shovel repeatedly, and Labonte who later pointed a gun at Mauney’s head, according to the affidavit. He identified Coleman, Williams and Labonte in the surveillance video and in a photo line-up.

Coleman is facing one count of robbery with a deadly weapon and manslaughter by culpable negligence, court records show.

Coleman’s defense attorney declined to comment in an email Monday morning, writing she “can’t discuss a case without my client’s permission.” His next date in court is May 2.

Attorney information for Labonte was not available Monday evening. He is held in the Broward Main Jail on one count of robbery with a deadly weapon, manslaughter by culpable negligence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, court and jail records show.