Ricardo Gonzalez to Receive Lethal Injection in Florida on December 1

Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant on Friday for Ricardo Gonzalez, the 56-year-old inmate convicted of killing a North Miami Beach police officer during a 1992 bank robbery. Gonzalez is set to die by lethal injection on Dec. 1 at Florida State Prison. This date places him as the 21st prisoner executed by the state in 2026.

The execution follows a violent crime that took place on Jan. 3, 1992, at Kislak National Bank. Court records show that Gonzalez, along with three codefendants, robbed a drive-thru teller of a cash box. During the incident, Officer Steven Bauer was escorting bank employees to the drive-thru windows. Gonzalez fired the gun that struck Bauer in the chest, killing the officer.

Police stopped Gonzalez at his residence just over two weeks after the shooting. He made both recorded and unrecorded confessions, claiming he had shot low and believed he only wounded Bauer in the leg. Investigators later determined that Gonzalez’s weapon fired the fatal round. He was convicted of first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, armed robbery, aggravated assault, two counts of grand theft, and two counts of burglary.

Circuit Court Judge Robert Scola Jr. signed the death sentence on Sept. 19, 1998. The sentencing order notes that Gonzalez picked up the money tray from the ground immediately after shooting Bauer. The order also states that Gonzalez received $1,500 as his share of the robbery proceeds. A clinical neuropsychologist testified on Gonzalez's behalf, citing extreme mental or emotional disturbance, developmental issues, brain damage from boxing, and impulse control problems.

Florida’s Department of Corrections executed 19 inmates last year, the highest annual number since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the execution moratorium in 1976. The state already has executions scheduled for Thursday and Nov. 19. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 32 prisoners have been executed across six states this year. Texas, the next highest state, has executed seven inmates. Florida, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Arizona account for all 32 executions so far.

Two of Gonzalez’s codefendants, Leonardo Franqui and Pablo San Martin, remain on Florida’s death row. As of Monday, 235 people are on the state’s death row, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.