Suspect in cop-imitation home invasion robbery captured across the state

Pinellas Park police have found a suspect in the June 13 South Miami-Dade home invasion perpetrated by police impersonators.

Usmael Carvajal, a 29-year-old veteran burglar, was discovered Wednesday night hiding in the rafters of a friend’s Pinellas Park apartment. The friend told Tampa TV station WFLA she was “pretty much shocked” to come home and find police swarming her apartment.

Around 3 a.m. June 13, a bearded man with glasses, a short ponytail, a fake badge, a vest and a drawn gun kicked in the front door of a residence in the 9800 block of Southwest 159th Street. The couple inside said the man and his cohort handcuffed them and, while their three children slept, forced them to give up cash from their safe.

Carvajal spent four years and eight months in prison from 2007-2012 on seven counts of carjacking, one count of grand theft and one count of burglary with assault.

Police are still looking for the second suspect, a chunky male of 180-200 pounds.

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Suspect in cop-imitation home invasion robbery captured across the state."