Young Cuban whose barbershop was burned down in Hialeah speaks

Jariel Esquivel, owner of thebarbershop that was burned down last Friday in Hialeah, denies that the incident was the result of an evening“war between barbers”, and assures that he did not owe anything to the two people involved in the attack against his establishment.

The owner of the store says that from his perspective there was no problem, but the truth is that the business had only been open in Hialeah for a month and was already beginning to flourish.

“This was my seat, the first to be able to welcome customers, children. What I least imagined was that the business would be burned down in such a way,” he explained in statements to journalist Eduardo “Yusnaby” Rodríguez forTelemundo 51.

He confirmed that he had indeed worked in the past at another barbershop in Hialeah toalso Cuban Miguel Reyes Junior (38 years old), who is now in prison accused of causing the fire in complicity with Alberto González (56), who remains a fugitive from justice.

“He tells me come here and I'll give you a job, because he knew that I was always a loyal, hard-working, compliant person.”explained Esquivel, who assures that everything ended when he decided to open his own business.

“I don't owe him anything. “I just wanted to start my business with my brother.”, he noted in reference to the end of his employment relationship with Reyes after working for three years in his barbershop.

“There has never been any war between barbers, nor will there ever be a war between barbers. It is simply a conflict towards this business and I do not know the reasons, he stressed.

To the journalist's suggestion about whether envy could have been an alleged trigger, he said he did not believe it.

“I know that I am no competition for him. All barbers, whether we own a place or not, have our style and our way of working towards the client. One way or another I don't see it as competition.", he concluded.

Jariel Esquivel explained that the eight people who worked with him are currently looking for a living in other jobs, both in barbershops and in construction.

“It hurts a lot to see them the way they are desperate because not even I have the knowledge of how long this could take,” he said about the future reopening of the premises.

Jariel Esquivel opened an account on the collection platformGoFundMe to raise financial funds to help buy the work tools lost during the fire and to also be able to remodel and reopen the premises. As of the closing of this note, of a goal of 20,000 dollars, he has managed to raise 5,165.

“I thank you infinitely. “I see it as a new beginning and for this to flourish again,” he said of the 77 people who have donated so far.

While raising the money necessary for this purpose, Jariel Esquivel has decided to continue serving his clientele at home.

"I can't stop, I wasn't taught by someone weak, I was taught by a mother who faced cancer for 16 years. Can you believe it? If my mother died in my hands and I had to continue...I have no choice, I have to continue. This was his dream”, he concluded in emotional reference to his mother.

Images from a Ring camera captured the moment when Miguel Reyes Junior and Alberto González attackedFresh Parras Barber Shop shortly after three in the morning last Friday.

In the video -disseminated byAmerica Camel- It was possible to see how Reyes, with his face covered and wearing gloves, broke the windows of the establishment with a wrench shortly before another man, in his case with his face uncovered, threw Molotov cocktails into the establishment.

“I cut myself, Alber!” Reyes is heard saying moments before his accomplice asked him to step aside to proceed to launch the incendiary weapon.

After attacking the premises, both fled in a car from the premises, located on First Avenue and 49th Street in West Hialeah.

If captured, Alberto González will face the same charges as Miguel Reyes, who appeared in court last Saturdaycharged with three crimes including robbery and first-degree arson.

During the hearing, Judge Mindy S. Glazer stated that the trespassing charge could result in a life prison sentence.

In response to the request of the state prosecutor,The judge granted preventive detention for the accused and denied him the right to bail on the two main charges.Additionally, an order was issued to restrain the suspect from both the scene of the incident and the victim.

For the charge related to a destructive device used for the fire - which was a Molotov cocktail - a bond of $7,500 was imposed.

Although the furniture, the ceiling, the walls and the windows ofFresh Parras Barber Shop They were burned, the immediate response of the firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to other premises.

The workers of the other businesses that are in the building where the barbershop is located continue to be dismayed after what happened.