Tale Of The Tape Leads To Arrests In Medley Armed Burglary
MEDLEY (CBSMiami) -- Two men arrested and charged in connection with the attempted robbery of a Medley restaurant owner made their first court appearance Friday.
Police say the men were captured thanks to surveillance video and tips from the public.
Gabriel Carrero, 26, and Reynaldo Sandoval, 19, are charged with armed burglary, burglary, and possession of burglary tools. In addition, the judge added an armed robbery charge to Carrero who was ordered held no bond.
Earlier this week, police released video of the attempted theft. The video shows one man popping a tire and breaking a window on Pablo Margolles's vehicle.
Police say Carrero and Sandoval had followed Margolles last Thursday to the Super Cafeteria on the 7800 block of Northwest 74th Street west of the Palmetto Expressway after they had observed him "placing a large amount of money in the rear of his vehicle."
Around 12:30 p.m. a black Ford Expedition backed up next to a car which belongs to the business' owner Margolles. A surveillance camera behind the business captured what happened next.
On the video, the driver can be seen reaching into a center console and retrieving a silver-colored hand gun. The other man then gets out of the SUV and goes to Margolles car. There he punctured a rear tire and smashed a rear window with a small hammer, the kind usually sold to break windows in case a vehicle is submerged in water.
When the men tried to rob Margolles, he went after the suspects himself.
Police released the surveillance video earlier this week in hopes of finding the men. It worked.
Officer Natalie Buissereth said it was a "joint effort of Hialeah and Hialeah Gardens and the community."
Police say the suspects were located after a tip came into police that their SUV was at a body shop.
"They pretty much were trying to disguise the car it was a black expedition and they were trying to change the color to a green expedition," Buissereth said.
Carrero was arrested at his job and Sandoval was arrested at his home in Hialeah Gardens.
Police say they hid the gun in a compartment in vehicle.
In the end, the suspects got away with nothing.
Margolles said he was "very happy" about the arrests. He said he didn't think twice about stopping the man who broke into his car.
"I saw the man outside by my car and I had to do something. I tried to capture him, I fought him, but he got away," said Margolles. "This is terrible what he tried to do. I wasn't going to allow this to happen. I wanted to protect what cash I had. I work hard for my money. They shouldn't be doing this."
