CBS4 Exclusive: Gas Station Worker Leads Police To Accused Violent Carjackers
LAUDERHILL (CBSMiami) - A gas station employee is being credited with helping to catch a group of suspected violent carjackers and he did it - Lauderhill Police say -- by digging through some garbage.
Lauderhill Police say the Good Samaritan saw something that didn't seem quite right so after the three men left the gas station last month, the employee did a little digging and helped crack the carjacking case.
"Had it not been for him doing just the little bit that he did do, we probably wouldn't be here having this discussion," Lt. Greg Solowsky said.
Solowsky said this story begins at a different gas station in Lauderhill -- where two young women were approached by Keandre Owens looking for a ride to his family's house last month. Investigators say Owens directed the women to a nearby area where Owens' accomplices arrived. Police say one of the women was beaten and robbed of her car while the other was chased and robbed of her cash.
"The audacity of these individuals to take out that kind of level of violence on members of our community is just to say, where did that from? Who raised you to do such a thing?" Solowsky said.
Two days later surveillance cameras at the Dania Beach gas station captured images of the men. The gas station employee noticed them doing something strange.
Click here to WATCH CBS4 Carey Codd's report
"The Good Samaritan sees that these individuals are in the process of what he calls 'emptying out a vehicle,'" Solowsky said. "They're taking items out of a car and throwing them into the trash."
After the men left, police said the employee checked the trash, saw some women's names on some papers and contacted her. Investigators say the man learned about the beating, robbery and stolen car and called police.
Soon after, detectives arrested Paul Parisi, Davonta Grant and Keandre Owens.
"This is not the first time they've broken the law," Solowsky said. "This is not the first time they've decided to victimize our community."
And investigators say it was the alert eye of a Good Samaritan that helped lead to the arrests.
"The fact that this individual went above and beyond and said something's strange and acted on it is something that we really need to commend here," Solowsky told CBS 4's Carey Codd.
Solowsky tells CBS 4 News that there is an arrest warrant for a 4th suspect -- Andre McFadden. CBS 4 News has learned that U.S. Marshal's have been searching for him Monday.
The bigger lesson here is this: Police say if you see something that doesn't look right in your community, you don't need to involve yourself directly but do call the authorities and alert them.
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