Third Suspect In Cop Home Burglary To Turn Himself In
SOUTH MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The third person who was allegedly caught in the act of burglarizing a police officer's home on Monday in South Miami is expected to be in custody by day's end.
South Miami police said they've been in contact with Alain Ruz who had said that he and his attorney would go to the police station on Tuesday and turn himself in.
On Monday, a relative of Ruz, 22-year old Adrian Ruz, and 20-year old Jose Ayala were arrested and charged after they reportedly picked the wrong house to rob.
The Miami Beach officer, who wanted to be identified only as "Alfred" in this report said he was off duty and had just pulled up in front of his home on SW 59th Street when he realized something was wrong.
"As soon as I stepped out of my car there were guys running out of my house," said Alfred, "Three guys running out of my house and getting in a van and attempting to flee."
Alfred said he did the only thing he could think of – he ran after them.
"I chased two of them," said Alfred. "One got inside somebody's backyard and the other one I chased down and apprehended myself."
All the while he was talking to South Miami police on the phone. When officers arrived they set up a perimeter.
"We observed the off duty Miami Beach police officer struggling with the guy, walking him down 58th Street," said South Miami police Major Renee Landon.
Alfred said during the chase and his take down he also had to field an important phone call.
"He was like 'Honey, I can't talk to you, they just broke into the house," said Alfred's wife Chastity.
"Yeah, she called in the middle of everything," said Alfred.
Within minutes, South Miami police found the second burglary suspect. He was hiding in a kayak.
"Pretty weird," said Jose Bedia who lives in the area. "That's not a good hiding space or anything. As he tried to get out, he apparently saw the dogs coming and knocked over the fence."
The third suspect, Ruz, got away in a burgundy colored car.
According to neighbors, the city has seen a small spike in car break-ins and home burglaries. Bedia said one of his neighbors was burglarized about a month ago.
But this time, the would-be bad guys picked the wrong place and the wrong time.
"It feels great," said Alfred, "Even though it was a bad situation, I like the way it ended."
