New arrest in South Beach robbery involving celebrity sneaker seller Benjamin Kickz

It’s been more than a year since a social-media celebrity known as Benjamin Kickz was arrested after Miami Beach police said he snatched the phone from a man during a dust-up outside the Fontainebleau hotel on New Year’s Eve 2021.

Now, part of his entourage has been arrested for delivering a vicious beating to the man — all captured on hotel surveillance video.

Mark Tunnell, 23, was arrested this week in Indianapolis on a fugitive warrant. He’s awaiting extradition to Miami-Dade on charged of aggravated battery and strong-arm robbery, jail records show. His Miami defense attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Cops say he was part of the crew of influencer Benjamin Kapelushnik, 22, who grew to fame as a teenager selling luxury sneakers to celebrities. Also known as the “Sneaker Don,” Kapelushnik has rubbed elbows with the likes of Kanye, Drake and Kodak Black while amassing more than one million Instagram followers.

The incident happened on Jan. 1, 2021, when Kapelushnik and his crew were getting ready to leave the glitzy South Beach hotel.

According to police, Kapelushnik believed a passerby in the lobby, Luel Alemu, had taken a photo of him without his permission. Alemu insisted he didn’t take a photo and refused to hand over his phone.

The confrontation spilled out into the valet parking area, where video surveillance captured Kapelushnik snatching Alemu’s phone, according to police reports. A member of Kapelushnik’s group then attacked Alemu, punching and kicking him, even as Alemu fell to the ground.

Alemu suffered a fracture to his right orbital bone, a broken nose and large bruise to the back of his head, according to police reports. He had to undergo at least one surgery.

Kapelushnik surrendered, and has since entered a “diversion” program for first-time offenders. If he completes the program, the charge of strong-armed robbery will be dismissed. He was not accused of striking Alemu.

Miami Beach detectives finally identified Alemu’s attacker — a tall man dressed in black — as Tunnell, who hails from Indianapolis. Cell phone records place him in the area of the Fontainebleau at the time of the robbery, police say.

Tunnell’s return to Miami is being handled by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Extradition Unit.