Hialeah man jailed for stalking ex-business partner who owed him $200K, cops say

A business deal went bad, leaving one man owing another $200,000, with the situation escalating when the creditor repeatedly showed up demanding payment and allegedly placed a tracker on his former business partner’s car, according to police.

Gabriel Pena, 44 of Hialeah, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated stalking, installing a tracker without consent and trespassing, Doral police said.

Pena’s arrest affidavit outlined the details:

On Dec. 13, a man reported “several suspicious encounters” to Doral police. The man, whom police have not identified, said about two years ago he made a business deal with Pena, owing him $200,000, the affidavit said.

Pena began showing up where his old business partner would be, demanding the money.

“The victim does not know how the defendant knew his location at times when he would be confronted by the defendant randomly when he would leave his residence,” the arrest affidavit states.

On Dec. 4, the man received a security system notification that a man was in his driveway just before he was leaving to drop his daughter off at school. He then received another alert, telling him a tracking device, called an Htag, was nearby, police say. The notification on the victim’s phone provided the Htag’s serial number and listed phone number, which matched to Pena, according to police.

When the victim brought his car to Doral police, an officer reported receiving the same Htag proximity alert on his personal iPhone while standing near the vehicle.

Police described the Htag as similar to an Apple AirTag, a device commonly used to track personal property or individuals.

On Jan. 27, the man called police and said Pena was knocking on his door. Police arrived and found Pena trying to leave the gated community; police took him into custody.

Pena was wearing clothes that matched that of the man seen in the man’s driveway the previous month, police say.

According to investigators, the man had previously told Pena not to contact him and to address the monetary dispute through the court system. Police say the defendant ignored those instructions and continued to confront the victim.

Investigators believe Pena is the person who placed the tracking device inside the man’s car. Court records show Pena bonded out Thursday.