Police officers in Miami-Dade County have successfully apprehended a suspected thief who went on a crime spree throughout the state of Florida. The arrest was made on Tuesday, and the suspect is now in custody.
On Wednesday, Alex Luis, aged 35, had his court appearance where he stood before a judge who denied him bond. Police reported that on July 12, Luis initiated his crime spree by visiting two businesses in Dania Beach.
Bullet Motor Sports has provided surveillance video which shows Luis getting out of his white pickup truck and searching the parking lot of their shop, located at 3013 Ravenswood Road.
As he walked towards the establishment, he was spotted heading towards a boat that was stationed there. According to an employee, some high-priced items were stolen.
On the night in question, Luis was caught on surveillance footage at Supreme Marine Inc., situated at 2981 Ravenswood Road, where he was observed collecting boat supplies and loading them into his vehicle. The footage also shows him attaching a flatbed trailer to his truck.
According to Troy Hannon, the owner of Supreme Marine, the culprit not only stole from them, but also managed to take away a golf cart and an electric vehicle in a matter of minutes.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer stated that there was a video of the incident that depicted a two-door white Ford F250 4×4. The video showed the suspect backing up to the victim’s boat and trailer, lifting it onto the tow hedge, and wrapping the hitch and trailer with a green rope.
According to Hannon, he has not yet been able to recover all the belongings that were taken by Luis. Hannon shared that the recovery of his GEM electric vehicle is still pending. He mentioned that he would be able to retrieve the trailer, but unfortunately, it was stripped. The trailer was a flatbed with wooden components.
However, Luis is accused of committing additional crimes beyond the ones previously mentioned. Detectives have reported that Luis stole two boats and two trailers in Doral the day after targeting businesses in Dania Beach.
Furthermore, it was alleged that Luis had taken a boat without permission in Citrus County, which is situated near the Villages in the northwest of Orlando, on a Sunday. On the next day, Luis was seen driving the boat that was reportedly stolen from Citrus County in Collier County.
Miami-Dade Police officers were successful in apprehending Luis on Tuesday following a brief pursuit. Glazer informed me that there were three charges for which you were arrested, namely fleeing and eluding a police officer, and resisting without violence.
Luis was apprehended by officials due to his unique features and the car he drove. According to Hannon, he expressed his satisfaction for the capture of Luis.
According to Hannon, “He was caught in Miami with a stolen boat.” According to him, it was not difficult for the officers to identify Luis based on his appearance.
Hannon noted that the truck had a unique appearance, making it easily identifiable. “You can spot it just by looking at the tailgate, wheels, and other features,” he said, emphasizing its distinctiveness as a key factor in identifying its owner.
According to Hannon, the apprehension of Luis was made possible with the aid of social media and the valuable contributions of the community.
“When I first saw him, I couldn’t help but notice his thick and bushy beard, which was impossible to miss. I shared his image on social media, and to my surprise, it quickly spread like wildfire, even making its way to the news. As a result, I received countless calls from concerned individuals. Interestingly, one of them happened to be a friend of his on Instagram, who shared three pictures from his account with me. I’m actually relieved that he’s been apprehended and will likely be locked up for some time.” recounted Hannon.
According to detectives, Luis claimed to have no memory of committing any crimes after his arrest, attributing it to his state of being high on crack cocaine.
Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives charged Luis for the thefts in Dania Beach after his appearance in Miami-Dade County court.
Luis is currently being held at the Miami-Dade County Jail and is expected to be transferred to Broward and Citrus counties in the upcoming weeks to appear before judges in each respective location.