Armed robbers nabbed after showing weapon on Facebook Live, eating sushi, cops say
.jpg "El Portal police have arrested Tenarick Eugene Taylor and Chuvez Lorrick Hannibal, both 21, for allegedly robbing a UPS driver on Aug. 16.")
Two armed robbers who thought they had successfully pulled off a heist, were done in by an appetite for sushi and an even stronger need for social media adoration, police said.
And with a little help from neighboring police agencies and video surveillance cameras, El Portal cops eventually nabbed the two men, who now face a number of major felony charges.
The alleged crooks, police said, were so “arrogant” they posted a Facebook live video shortly after the robbery that showed the food they had purchased and the weapon police suspect was used in the crime.
“We got a call from the bank who said they were using a credit card,” said El Portal Police Chief Dave Magnusson. “We got tape from Sushi Sake that put them within 30 minutes of the robbery. All the things lined up.”
Arrested and charged with armed robbery, armed burglary and stealing credit cards and using them, were Tenarick Taylor, 21, and Chuvez Hannibal, also 21. Taylor had an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Both have been denied bond.
Police said it all started behind an abandoned church in the tiny town of El Portal, just west of Biscayne Boulevard and nestled between the city of Miami and Miami Shores.
On Aug. 16, according to police, a UPS driver pulled into the rear parking lot of the church at 205 NE 87 St., where he usually parked after finishing deliveries to have some lunch. But this lunch was different. While the driver was parked, a Dodge Charger occupied by Hannibal and Taylor pulled up. Police said the men got out of the vehicle and walked towards the van, then entered it on the passenger side.
That’s when Taylor pulled out a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, pointed it at the delivery man and rifled through his pockets, police said. Taylor then went to the rear of the truck and picked through the undelivered packages, ultimately deciding against taking anything, Magnusson said.
Police said Hannibal stood by as a lookout. Taylor got away with the driver’s wallet and the duo took off.
Police said the UPS driver immediately went to the nearby El Portal police department. While there, the driver got a call from his bank saying his credit card was being used about two miles up the road at Sushi Sake, at 13551 Biscayne Blvd. Police later obtained video footage showing the men passing the police station as the driver was talking with them.
Denied by the cashier, Taylor pulled out another credit card and made the purchase. They ate some lunch there, but bagged the rest and took it with them. Two other men were with them at the Sushi joint and jumped into their car when they left.
That’s when Miami police helped solve the crime. Detectives scanning social media noticed a live Facebook feed of the men inside the Dodge Charger singing and carrying a bag of food from the restaurant they had just left. They contacted El Portal police.
Also seen in the video, according to police: the semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine believed to be used in the robbery.
“Their arrogance of going to eat just after pulling a robbery and later showing off in a video was these robbers’ downfall,” Magnusson said.
The pair were finally busted last Thursday when detectives found them at separate homes in Miami in a sting cops called “Operation Special Delivery.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 4:22 PM.
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