Police Make Arrest After Searching For Dangerous Ex-Con
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LIBERTY CITY (CBSMiami) -- At a press conference Saturday, authorities were relieved to say they got Willy "PeeWee" Wilcher off of the streets of Miami.
Wilcher was recently released from prison after serving 18 years for crimes committed while he ran with one of the most violent gangs in Miami's history, known as the John Doe gang.
Police say Wilcher quickly got back to terrorizing his old neighborhood, robbing a couple at gun point as they arrived home from a night of shopping just before Christmas.
Surveillance cameras allegedly caught him at a Liberty City convenience store waving an AK-47 and looking for rival gang members inside. He then threatened the cashier, telling her:
"Yo, remember what I told you. Any ni**a from that side of the projects in here, I'ma kill they a** and I gotta kill everyone else in here. They talking about they're looking for Peewee. I'm right here. I just left out the projects."
Miami Police considered him extremely dangerous.
"He was letting everyone at the store know he was back in town. And if anybody was looking for him he was ready to fight it out with his gun," said Chief Rodolfo Llanes.
Both Miami and Miami-Dade Police worked together to get Wilcher off the streets and say it was mostly due to help from the community.
"Number one, they told us told they were scared. And number two, they gave us information about what he had done and where he was. Without that cooperation, we wouldn't have made this arrest."
It's exactly the outcome local law enforcement leaders have been looking for, especially with all of the recent gun violence across the county.
"This is a war on the criminals here and I think the people and Liberty Square have finally said, 'enough is enough'. They're coming forth, they're telling police what they know and it's useful information to the community," said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson.
"We keep saying it: this community is filled with hard-working individuals. Individuals that want peace. Individuals that want tranquility. The overwhelming majority of this community. But one bad apple can cause havoc," said Deputy Director Juan Perez. "We're gonna continue to find these bad apples to keep this community safe."
