FBI Identifies Suspect In Hialeah Regions Bank Robbery
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation Miami Office has identified the suspect accused of holding up a Hialeah bank on Wednesday afternoon.
The suspect, who is in federal custody, was identified by the FBI as David Reinaldo Alvarez, 24, of Hialeah.
Alvarez faces federal bank robbery charges. He is scheduled to appear in federal court later today.
It started with the robbery of a Regions Bank at 600 East 9th Street.
Police initially spotted the suspect's white Honda Prelude leaving the area. They pursued it but momentarily lost contact with it.
They then tracked it to a home in the 700 block of 4th Street where they believed the suspect ended up.
The SWAT team was called out and the suspect was taken into custody.
CBS4 was on the scene as police questioned one man in handcuffs before placing him inside a cruiser and taking him away.
Neighbors told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that they recognized the man who was taken into custody and said he lived at the home.
Authorities are not saying what was taken from the bank.
CBS4's Peter D'Oench spoke with neighbors who saw the suspect's fleeing car.
Gil Gonzalez said, "I was right in front of my house at 6th place and he was running down with six to seven police cars behind him. I thought it was a drug deal the way police were chasing him and kept on running."
"This could happen anywhere I guess," he said. "But this guy was going so fast, between 60 and 75 miles per hour."
Fred Chico said, "This guy made a right turn right in front of me and he was going so fast down the street. I couldn't believe it. It was a white car, a honda with a spoiler. He was going at least 70 miles an hour and he went right through that stop sign over there. I was surprised to see that he was running from police."
Ubwa Jumanne said "I was going for a run and I saw this Honda, this white Honda going at a fast speed right by me. I was just minding my business and I thought this is crazy. He was going so fast."
Jumanne said he was grateful that the suspect had been arrested after robbing the bank and after the police pursuit and he commended the cops for the bust.
"I think that something like this was crazy though," he said. "It puts a lot of people in danger and to know that that happened it makes me feel that this is crazy actually."
The neighborhood was sealed off for several hours on Wednesday afternoon.
