Crime
The Robber Drove a Silver Mercedes
The robber waited impatiently for the victim. This was not a crime of opportunity. The robber knew what he wanted.
He parked in a no parking space in front of the East Lobby of the LOFT 2 Downtown, NE Second Street, just east of the Metro mover station where panhandlers and drunks used to hang out until the increased presence of Miami Police officers diffused them.
The robber waited impatiently for the victim. This was not a crime of opportunity. The robber knew what he wanted. And he was not alone, surveillance cameras show. In the passenger seat sat an accomplice. Surveillance cameras show the silver Mercedes Benz arrived at 11:35 am. A Parking Authority agent approached the driver to tell him, I assume, move, he was in a no-standing zone. The Parking Authority agent didn’t convey the necessary authority for the man remained unperturbed and focused on the premeditated crime.
At 12:43 pm, the victim, a man in his early 60s, a resident of the LOFT 2 for the last 6 months, came down to get a delivery dropped off near the Metro mover station, steps away from the LOFT 2 entrance. Time to execute the first leg of the crime. As the victim approached the door to re-enter the building, the robber, driver of the Mercedes, jumped out and dashed across the sidewalk to the door so he could get in before it closed. He piggybacked inside the lobby.
Waiting for the Elevator
The victim proceeded to fetch a Covid mask from a briefcase, not knowing that his life was at risk not so much from the viral infection but from the man standing next to him dressed in jeans and his face half-hidden under the visor of a red cap. Los amigos de lo ajeno, “friends of other people’s property,” can be deadlier than pandemics.
The elevator opens and two people exit. The victim goes in followed by the robber. Like most buildings in the urban core, a fob is needed to access one’s floor. The resident uses his and pushes for the 16th floor. The elevator surveillance camera shows a verbal exchange between the two men. The resident seems to ask the robber to which floor he is going, and since I am a novelist, I imagine the robber replying, what a coincidence, I am going to the 16th floor as well. I am new to the building. The influx of out-of-towners has filled all Downtown buildings, so the victim didn’t give the matter further thought. He turned to face the opaque silver reflection on the elevator door. Did he have a gut feeling? Did his survival instinct warn him?
The robber is seen fidgeting and pretends to look the other way when the victim checks the time on his wristwatch, but he knew exactly what kind of watch the man had, and how much such Rolex would bring him — thousands of dollars. He probably also was thinking, in the best-case scenario, strong armed the fellow, steal the watch, maybe for good measure take his wallet, and run back to the elevator. No fob needed to flee down and out. The worse-case scenario: the man refuses to give up his possessions, fights back, screams. Neighbors come out. Maybe, like it happened in one movie, a brave lady comes out in defense of the neighbor and smacks the robber in the head with a copper frying pan.
The surveillance camera shows the resident-victim exiting the elevator on the 16th floor. The robber tags alone. The last image captured shows the man accelerating behind the victim.
The Crime
What happened next is scary for residents, a reminder that one needs to be aware of the surroundings. Above all, never allow anybody in the building that you don’t know. Robbers have no uniformed look, and chances are they don’t fit your stereotype. Case in point, this robber was driving a luxury car.
Once in the hallway, the robber strong armed the victim and threatened him, claiming he had a gun. Who doesn’t have a gun these days? The victim had to believe him, and he did believe when the robber thundered: “I will shoot you dead, expletive. What did the victim do? What went through his mind?
From interviews Detectives and the LOFT 2 Management had with the victim, a picture surfaces like those old Polaroid’s — blurry and gradually clearer. Actually, the robber forced the victim to the apartment just around the elevator and took his watch and another watch and more jewelry. Expensive stuff. Stuff the victim loved, but he loved his life more. Go ahead, he said in Spanish, take it all. And he did the right thing. The road to hell is paved with brave intentions.
The Escape
The robber ran out of the building. The loot in his pockets. Got into the silver Mercedes and sped away.
Police Work
Two police detectives sat down to study surveillance tapes from the LOFT 2 and adjacent buildings. This was not a spontaneous act, what they call a crime of opportunity. Chances are the robber and accomplice had targeted the victim. More important than their conclusion, the detectives got the Mercedes’ license plate, which led them to identify the robber.
The police located the car. They waited for the robber to come down from his apartment to arrest him in-flagrante delicto (red-handed.) The man never came down. A warrant was issued to confiscate the car and search for fingerprints, etc. A warrant was issued to search the apartment. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the robber.
As to the accomplice, a second one might be involved. A femme fatale to prove that reality is stranger than fiction? Police acknowledged they suspect a lady but not necessarily fatale. And no more information was divulged.
As I write, the famous reggae tune by Israel Vibration keeps resounding in my mind: You’re running in vain / You can run but you can’t hide!
If you liked what you read, please share it. To receive Downtown News updates, register here.
