A man was assaulted in gym parking lot, abducted, forced to turn over hundreds, cops say
A 21-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a pistol-whipping carjacking, abduction and robbery that began outside of a 24-Hour Fitness in Miami Gardens earlier this month, police said.
The victim told police he was taken, with a gun against his back, to an apartment in Homestead, where $700 was transferred out of his Cash App account. His abductors then took him bank hopping, in an attempt to steal more money, police said.
This all happened on March 14. Now, police say they’ve arrested one of the suspects — Bernard Robinson of Miami.
Robinson was arrested Thursday night in the area of Southwest 214th Street and South Dixie Highway in the Goulds neighborhood. He is facing charges of armed-robbery carjacking and kidnapping, according to his arrest affidavit.
Police say he’s one of several people wanted for the late-night crime-spree that began in the parking lot of the gym, 19371 NW 27th Ave. in Miami Gardens.
A man told police he was driving out of the gym’s parking lot around 8:25 p.m. when two men rushed toward his 2013 Dodge Challenger. Surprised, he stopped the car.
He was then “pistol whipped in the face and mouth, and then ordered out of his car,” the affidavit states. When he made a “sudden move toward the subjects” one of them fired his gun in his direction, but he was not hit, the affidavit states.
The man started begging for his life when he was told to get back into the front passenger seat of his car. One of the suspects took the wheel and the other sat behind the man with a gun pointed at his back, the report read.
The men took him to an unknown apartment complex in Homestead, but the man remembers what he saw on the way: a Checkers (2645 NW 183rd St.), Carol-Mart Shopping Center (south of Northwest 183rd Street) as they headed south on the Palmetto Expressway.
Accused of stealing $700 using Cash App on victim’s phone
An unknown man and woman came to the car and used his phone to send money through Cash App to two different usernames — Dominque Wiliams for $200 and Chad Lewis for $500.
He was then taken to several Wells Fargo ATMs throughout Homestead to make withdrawals, the report read. He told the men his card was locked and withdrawals wouldn’t be possible. The men forced him to call Wells Fargo and unlock his card before taking him to more places. The arrest report did not say how much money was withdrawn.
He was finally released on a dark road and told if he contacted police, they would “retaliate” as they kept his license, the report said.
A Good Samaritan was flagged down and took him to a service center, where the man called Miami-Dade Police.
More than a week later, on Thursday, officers pulled over the victim’s car and detained two men.
From a lineup, the victim picked out Bernard Robinson, the report said.
Officers say Robinson was being evasive and he said he bought the car from his girlfriend, but did not give further details on it, the report said.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 9:34 PM.
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