Police Release Sketch Of Coral Gables Mugger
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Coral Gables police have released a new sketch of a man they said sexually battered and robbed a woman earlier this month.
Police said that sketch is based on a great deal of detail provided to them by the victim in this case.
CBS4'S Peter D'Oench followed police as they passed out flyers of that sketch and asked for the public's help and told residents to make sure they were locking their doors and windows.
Police spokeswoman Kelly Denham, said, "We have a woman who was attacked while just walking in Coral Gables. This is a safe city and we not have a lot of violent crimes. So when these types of crimes happen, residents are concerned, officers are concerned and the police chief is concerned. We want to solve this case and put this person behind bars so he does not do this to another woman."
Jenna Schmidtman, a concerned resident, told D'Oench, "I mean this is scary. This could happen to anyone. I wouldn't want this to happen to me while walking my dog."
J.C. Parets, another concerned resident, said, "My wife is not going to go out early for a walk particularly after the time change."
Another resident who didn't want to be identified said, "Knowing this is so close to home, that is scary with someone lurking in the area. There are a lot of trees here."
Residents CBS4 spoke with did not recognize the person seen in the sketch.
Denham said it is not known if he has struck before.
On March 13th, the woman was attacked just before 7 a.m. in the 1300 Block of Granada Boulevard.
The woman was walking southbound when a man grabbed her, stole her property and in the process sexually battered her.
People who live on Granada Boulevard were surprised to hear about the attack. They said that in the mornings and evenings, especially, many people walk, jog and bike along the boulevard with children and dogs in tow.
The man was described as a white Hispanics male and is 30 to 40 years old, between 5'7" and 5'9" tall, 180 pounds with a muscular build. He was possibly driving a white SUV or van.
Police said he has brown eyes and bushy eyebrows and is bald. The victim in this case told police he was last seen wearing a white crew neck t-shirt, blue jeans with a belt and blue and yellow sneakers.
Officer Denham offered some advice.
"If you are out there walking and carrying a purse or a computer bag, just glance over your shoulder and see if someone is behind you. There is a saying that if the hair on the back of your neck stands up, trust it. Run to a house and try to draw attention to yourself."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Coral Gables Police Department at (305) 442-1600 or Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-8477 (TIPS).
