Police Make 2 Arrests In Violent Robbery At Miami Beach Boutique
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – A Miami Beach consignment store owner says she is relieved the men who terrorized her store are now behind bars.
"Get out of my way, you're getting robbed."
That is the first thing a pair of crooks said to the employee at "Consign of the Times" boutique store in Miami Beach, before attacking her and making off with an armload full of designer purses.
"Sick to my stomach. Nauseous. That that happened over a handbag," store owner Carin Kirby told CBS4's Natalia Zea.
Kirby can barely look at the clear surveillance video, which shows on multiple angles the violent attack in late September.
Two female customers browsed through the designer goods while the employee stood near the door.
Suddenly, the men burst in, punched the employee and played a gun-pointing game of cat and mouse with one of the customers around a rack of clothing. The other customer ran into a back room.
While one of the men, wearing a hat and wig, loaded up all the Chanel, Prada and Louis Vuitton bags he could grab, the other saw the employee grab the store phone. He pistol-whipped her and kicked her three times in the head and face before taking off tens of thousands of dollars' worth of hot handbags.
That employee was so shaken by the attack she moved out of state.
"She's like a sister, she's worked for me for 11 years and to have someone put a gun in her face is very, very disturbing," said Kirby.
When Kirby got the call Tuesday that police made two arrests in the case, she was thrilled.
Police say 22-year-old Diamonte Butler and 23-year-old Tim Jones were the men who terrorized the women.
"We had, as you saw, the United States Marshall's Service brought in for this, all of our detectives assigned to this. Our number one priority was to arrest these folks," said Miami Beach Police Spokesman Officer Ernesto Rodriguez.
Both of the men were denied bond. That may be because police say both men have previously been arrested for store robberies in Bal Harbour and Coral Gables.
And this wasn't the first time criminals came into "Consign of the Times" and grabbed bags from the shelves.
Kirby is convinced these are the same men who stole a $5,200 Chanel purse in August, by distracting an employee.
"They are so bold and brazen they just come and do what they're going to do and leave," Kirby said.
She's grateful police took this recent attack on her store so seriously.
"The Miami Beach Police Department has been amazing. Detective Garcia has been by our side the whole time," Kirby said.
And she's not shy about her feelings about the men, accused of committing this crime.
"They can rot in hell."