Doral P.D. Seeks Help Busting Office Building Burglar
DORAL (CBS4) – The Doral Police Department needs your help to bust a burglar they say has targeted area business offices.
Tuesday, Doral P.D. released surveillance video and a flier which shows the suspect they are looking for.
The crime spree took place Saturday, October 8th. It was about 10:00 a.m. when the suspect entered the building located at 8180 NW 36th Street and burglarized several business offices.
Surveillance cameras captured the suspect as he walked calmly down the halls and in no hurry searching for electronic items.
Police said he knew what he was looking for and even noticed the surveillance cameras.
According to Doral Police Chief Ricardo Gomez, the burglar knew the alarm system was off.
After scouring the offices he finally got impatient and kicked in the doors to various offices.
Police say he is about 6'2" to 6'3" and weighs around 280 pounds.
He is also seen taking some Dell and HP laptop computers. He got away with thousands of dollars in equipment.
"You can see how this man has broken into the offices and he is rummaging through them," Chief Gomez told CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "He is doing everything he can to steal items here through nefarious means. He looks like he knows exactly what he is doing. And he is certainly taking his time."
Chief Gomez said the suspect broke into at least four offices and may have been involved in other similar burglaries in the Doral area.
In addition to the video, police have other evidence; a shoe imprint left behind by the plus-sized suspect.
"From looking at his shoe size, he's about a size 12 or 13," said Gomez. "And from what we see he may have played football at some point, maybe a position like nose tackle."
Chief Gomez hopes this surveillance videotape will help solve this crime.
"What it means to us is that we're able to identify someone who's coming to our city who's committing a crime and we're able to apprehend him and maybe get back some of the merchandise to ensure that he doesn't come back into our city and commit any further crimes," said Gomez.
Doral's Police Chief said this surveillance tape was the clearest and most precise videotape that his department had ever released.
"This business owner spared no expense," said Gomez. "He got a real high-end camera. He set them up in places that would capture the person coming in."
Police did not respond to the business's alarm system in this case because it had not been activated.
While the victims inside the business declined to speak on camera, neighbors said they were alarmed by the actions of the burglar.
"When we first heard about this, number one, we are a law firm and we keep very confidential files," said attorney Arnold Trevilla. "We have over 1500 files and they are all computerized on a hard drive. Had he stolen our computers, that would have affected our business. We're very concerned. In fact we went as far as backing up online our material as a result of this incident."
Trevilla, a veteran attorney who has been involved with many cases at the Metro Justice Building said, "As a criminal defense attorney, I defend a lot of guys but this is one guy that I wouldn't mind them catching."
"If anybody out there sees this guy, please call Doral Police," said Trevilla. "I think I'll pass on representing this guy."
If you recognize the suspect, call the Doral Police Department at (305) 593-6699 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.
