Manuel Cordero's final booty call cost him his life.

The charming mechanic loved snapping Polaroid photos of the oversized posteriors of neighborhood women. But when Amanda Barrett came over for a ''photo shoot,'' a pal named Perry Bailey tagged along -- to rob Cordero, Miami police say.

He shot Cordero dead, stealing cash and a credit card, police say.

That's the story outlined in an arrest warrant released Friday. Bailey, 20, was arrested two days earlier, charged with first-degree murder.

'Sadly, his love of womens' physiques cost him in the end,'' said Miami Detective Delrish Moss, a spokesman.

Miami homicide detectives tracked Bailey down, in part, because he allegedly used Cordero's credit card to buy coffee-colored slippers at Wal-Mart, the warrant said.

When Bailey surrendered on the murder charge, Detective Ricardo John noticed he ''was wearing the exact kind of coffee-colored slippers,'' he wrote in an arrest warrant.

Barrett was not charged and is cooperating with police.

At first, Cordero's murder was a mystery.

The 52-year-old Puerto Rican was found shot dead June 23 on the uncarpeted floor of a small-engine shop in Buena Vista. He lived and worked in the shop, 4510 NW Second Ave.

Detectives initially believed Cordero had electrocuted himself. A cord attached to a large air compressor lay atop his body.

But the Miami-Dade medical examiner's office discovered he had been shot four times in the torso with .357 caliber bullets.

Detectives knew their pool of suspects was wide and large. They found hundreds of Polaroid photos of clothed female fannies inside his small-engine workshop.

They believe he would charm plus-sized women into taking photos, or offered some sort of ''in-kind services.''

Before the murder, Perry's friends said he ''talked about wanting to commit a robbery. Several of the witnesses saw [Perry] in possession of a firearm, which was consistent with the murder weapon.''

The opportunity came when the bachelor Cordero asked Barrett to pose for him. It was unclear exactly how he met Cordero.

Bailey said ''he would use the opportunity'' of the photo shoot to rob Cordero, the warrant said.

He snuck ''toward the rear of the victim's home when he saw the victim went back there,'' the warrant reads. Barrett told police she was outside the home when the shooting happened.

The suspected killer told pals he wasn't sure if he'd shot Cordero. He claimed he fired accidently when Cordero ''struggled against him.''

Two weeks after the shooting, an anonymous caller dialed 911 with Perry's name.

''I'm very pleased. Somebody from the community stepped up and helped us. A lot of times I can't solve these murders without the community's help,'' John said.

On July 5, detectives tracked Cordero's credit card -- it had been used at a North Miami Beach Wal-Mart.

Surveillance video showed Bailey and his girlfriend, Charlene Hollinger, spending $137.79 on 14 items, including the slippers.

Armed with witness testimony and the Wal-Mart evidence, Detective John and Assistant State Attorney Laura Adams prepared an arrest warrant for first-degree murder.

By July 24, Bailey was already in Miami-Dade County jail. He had been arrested after Cordero's death on unrelated cocaine charges.

Bailey's mother would only say to a reporter: ''My son said he didn't commit no murder.''

He was taken from Miami-Dade County Jail to police headquarters, where he declined to talk detectives. His coffee-colored slippers were confiscated as evidence.