Category: Crime Watch

On Tuesday, our units were conducting an anti-gun violence operation in the Village West and received information about a suspect that was delivering drugs to the Grove. The units were able to apprehend WM Ilitch Munoz for sale of cocaine. The investigation revealed the suspect was armed with a .357 revolver and was also in possession of steroids. The officers were surprised to learn that the suspect had used his job as an Uber driver to solicit drug buyers. I am extremely proud of our units for taking a gun off our streets.

As the above incident was developing, I received a call from a resident on Coconut Ave in the Center Grove. He advised that a suspicious male was looking into vehicles. Units responded to the area and were able to contact BM James Taylor. The officers were able to develop probable cause to effect the arrest. A record check revealed Mr. Taylor has been previously arrested for breaking into cars. Kudos to the alert resident that diligently called the police and likely prevented a crime in our community.

A few moments ago, one of our grove units on a traffic detail conducted a stop of an individual for a moving violation at Grand Ave and Matilda. The alert officer detected a strong smell of marijuana, he investigated a little deeper and discovered a sizable amount of marijuana. The offender was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

In closing, I have received numerous calls from concerned residents about the continuing explosions and fireworks rocking our community for the past few weeks and I am aware of the disruption it is causing. Our units have saturated the area but have failed to locate the perpetrators. I have tasked one of our supervisors and his team to employ the use of undercover vehicle to covertly search for the offenders. Rest assure that our team will continue to seek the violators until we can restore peace and quiet to our community. If you know who is responsible please call 911 or send me a direct message.

A final reminder to Park Smart – park your car in a safe location, remove all valuables and LOCK your doors.

Stay Safe.
Cmdr. Manny Morales

El Nino is ending and hurricane landfall probabilities are up this year. However, there is still time to register your vehicle for free parking in the Oak St garage in the event of a hurricane.

Many of our neighbors do not have garages and their vehicles are subject to damages by a hurricane. The City of Miami will allow registered residents to park in the municipal garages if they have properly registered their vehicles IN ADVANCE OF THE EVENT. Parking is available on a first come basis for registered residents.

Registration via the Miami Parking website is fairly quick but it must be complete before June 30 each year.

You will need an uploadable document proving you live in the city limits of Miami. I suggest a phone snapshot of your driver license. Have it on your computer before your begin the registration process.

Additionally, this year, you will need to create an account with the City prior to registering. Its easy but takes one additional step.

Its a bit hard to find the registration page on the Miami Parking website so I’ve included it here for your convenience:

https://www.miamiparking.com/miami-vehicular-protection/

You will be mailed a decal to place in your car to identify you as a registered vehicle owner. The registration form lacks a place to add your address so I recommend putting a request to mail the decal to you with your mailing address in the comments box.

Good luck and lets hope we don’t need to use the garage this hurricane season.

Assault at gunpoint on Freeman Street

PLEASE BEWARE:

From a resident: Last night at 1:00 in the morning my neighbor’s son who was visiting drove into the driveway and was assaulted at gunpoint by (3) men wearing hoodies and gloves. They were driving a newish white Range Rover. The men wanted his keys and wallet. They put him a choke hold while taking his wallet. When he handed the guys his keys to the car, they dropped them in the grass and then got very upset and told him they were going to “put him to sleep”. My neighbor’s son started screaming and then the dog inside started barking and the guys ran away.

Commander Morales’ response:

Additional Reminder from Commander Morales… from a phone conversation 5/23/2016 :

1. Be mindful of your surroundings
2. Leave nothing in your cars 
3. Lock your cars!
4. Leave nothing interesting outside your house.
5. Make no reason for for them to come into our neighborhood.

If you think or feel that someone is following you, call the police and drive to a very well lighted, commercial location. Do not get out of the car until the police arrive.

This morning our units responded to Tucker elementary school at SW 37 Ave and Thomas Ave. in reference to shots fired. The on-scene investigation revealed that several shots had been fired a block north of the school. A stray bullet had struck a building at the school. No students were injured in the incident. At this time we are looking for a black male with dreads, medium build and in his 20’s, wearing a black hoodie and dark pants. The suspect was armed and fled in a 4 door white vehicle with tinted windows. We are following several investigative leads, but the need the public’s help to provide any information that may assist the investigation.

I will discuss the incident in further detail tonight at our West Grove Crime Watch at 7pm at Greater St. Paul AME church located at 3680 Thomas Ave. The safety of our kids needs to be our number 1 priority and I have modified our strategy to ensure we can provide our community’s educational facilities a safe environment for our children to learn. I have assigned a grove beat officer to monitor the area of Tucker Elementary from Monday – Friday from 7a-4p. In addition, our Problem Solving Team will be conducting anti-narcotics operation in the adjacent area to address the sale of drugs. Please come out tonight and get involved, only by working together will we be able bring lasting peace to our community.

Please call 911 or 305-471-TIPS if you have any information.

Thanks and I will keep you posted on our progress.

Commander Manuel A. Morales
Coconut Grove NET
Miami Police Department
South District Substation
2200 West Flagler St.
Miami, FL. 33135