Another rape in Center Grove early today
Another rape in Center Grove occurred early this morning on Virginia and Day. I took the composite down of the assailant because it may or may not be the same one from Halloween.
The assailant is described as a black male, 5' 7", 175 pounds, medium build, wearing blue jeans, black windbreaker, dark shirt, black skull cap and a red bandana over his mouth.
The victim apparently was sitting in her car in the area of Mary and Day Avenue waiting for a friend to come join her, and the assailant entered the car through the passenger door.
The assailant had a gun, and the crime began as a robbery.
The assailant then had the victim drive to a nearby parking lot, where the sexual battery occurred.
Although there are similarities in the area where the attack occurred and the description of the assailant, police have not been able to determine that this assailant is the same one who committed sexual battery on Halloween morning.
A composite sketch of the assailant is presently being done.
The area is still roped off and police are still investigating. Everyone is urged to remain alert and vigilant and report anything suspicious. Call 911 immediately or the non-emergency number: 305-579-6111.
Keep the non-emergency number in your cell phone to report anything suspicious -- call 911 if you see something happening.
The assailant is described as a black male, 5' 7", 175 pounds, medium build, wearing blue jeans, black windbreaker, dark shirt, black skull cap and a red bandana over his mouth.
The victim apparently was sitting in her car in the area of Mary and Day Avenue waiting for a friend to come join her, and the assailant entered the car through the passenger door.
The assailant had a gun, and the crime began as a robbery.
The assailant then had the victim drive to a nearby parking lot, where the sexual battery occurred.
Although there are similarities in the area where the attack occurred and the description of the assailant, police have not been able to determine that this assailant is the same one who committed sexual battery on Halloween morning.
A composite sketch of the assailant is presently being done.
The area is still roped off and police are still investigating. Everyone is urged to remain alert and vigilant and report anything suspicious. Call 911 immediately or the non-emergency number: 305-579-6111.
Keep the non-emergency number in your cell phone to report anything suspicious -- call 911 if you see something happening.
posted by Tom Falco at 10:50 AM
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48 Comments:
What a sad sad event. Here we have Sarnoff's goon squads out sitting around having a good old time trying to catch a DUI so he can keep 'Mr. Moes' closed at 3:00.
Well Sarnoff this one back-fired on you! While you had these public servants doing your dirty work you are responsible for a rapist doing his dirty work. Let the police do their job of finding this creep and settle your fight with John El-Masry in the boxing ring like real men.
It is time to let your grudge fight with John to STOP! Let him have his 5:00 closing time! Grow up!
With 5 am more eyes and ears would be on the streets. Just sayn.
Maybe if just one of the 3 police cars that are planted on Main Hwy nightly flasing their lights and scaring "the good guys" away couldbe patrolling instead, this wouldn't have happened. Any fool can see that if there are 3 cop cars in one location in Coconut Grove there aren't too many others in the streets.
Maybe one of those ridiculous "information booths" could be moved where it's needed more and have cop or security attending.
...three cop cars in one location while a rape occurs blocks away.
DISGRACEFUL!
I'm a Grove resident in favor of 5 AM. However, this wouldn’t have helped here, as these attacks are not happening near bars. We need increased police presence throughout the ENTIRE Grove. I’m terrified by how close I was to these situations - out in the same block within 5-10 minutes of when the attacks occurred. I'm tired of people making everything about Sarnoff and 5 AM closings. Two women (daughters, sisters, friends) have been raped in our own backyards, and using that to further political arguments is despicable. How would you respond if there was no Sarnoff or 5 AM closing controversy? THAT is the reaction this community should have. Sop being whiners and start becoming activists. The Grove needs it.
I really dissagree with using this horrible event to promote either side of this 5Am issue. I have no idea when this crime took place so I can't comment on it.
I will say that last night was officially the slowest Friday night I personally had in 9 years of business at Moes. I just had a cup of coffee with Olav and he was completely unaware of the DUI checkpoint on 27th but interestingly enough said that he walked to the corner of Virginia & Grand at 9:45PM to see what was up and stayed there observing till 10:00PM. In a 15 minute time span he told me that he witnessed just 3 cars drive by.
That's 3 cars in 15 minutes on a Friday night in peak season.
I can only immagine how desolate it was after midnight.
John El-Masry
Anon 11:07 -- you hit the nail on the head -- more folks on the streets with a 5am closing. This is a no-brainer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Maybe if just one of the 3 police cars that are planted on Main Hwy nightly flasing their lights and scaring "the good guys" away couldbe patrolling instead, this wouldn't have happened"
Exactly. Have you noticed when a any minor accident happens, a slight dent in a car, an adventurous squirrel gets run over, a cyclist feels dizzy, we get 5 police patrols on the spot, most of them just stand there forever, doing nothing. Or they spend hours just hiding in the cool shade around stop signs to get more ticket-money for Papa Sarnoff to spend elsewhere but in the Grove; with nice music, reading the paper, (I've OFTEN seen them in Tiger tail checking out the latest news).
Why don't these mismanaged, lazy policement hop on police bikes as they do in Pinecrest and most US cities and Worldwide , or on foot, and do some Real, old-fashionned street patrolling, with this nice cool weather we're having? It would deter real crime much more efficiently, and it would be good for everyone's health. CI
I'm a family man who lives a block away. I have a wife and daughter! I'm horrified and embarrased that this happened so close to home. We need to take our neighborhood back.
Write the City Manager, Write the New Mayor, and Finally, Write our neighbor and Commissioner!
How about a big reward for this creep to be found and put away?
For the people that are linking a rape of a girl with Sarnoff and the 5 am closing....for shame.
While I'm all for 5 AM for one or two bars, I really don't think it needs to be brought in to this discussion. This horrible crime really doesn't have anything to do with that.
I'm a Nurse and I usually leave for work at that time of day. I often see people out and about walking dogs, jogging etc. So, it is scary to think this guy is out there patrolling our neighborhood and getting away with this. Until he is found, we all need to be alert when walking around late night/early morning.
Everyone is pointing fingers at the 5 AM closing time as the reason business has dropped. No mention of the economy or the fact that Coral Gables has a 3 am closing time and the business there seems ok for this economy. There is money in the BID for necessities to bring customers to the Grove, I would think that 2 rapes in 2 weeks may create a necessity to increase security DUH David Collins! These incidents do not exactly entice people to the Grove. Wake up and smell the roses, the Grove is not that special anymore, has nothing to do with 5 AM, has to do with the "Allure" which obviously has disappeared.
The nut job rapist is a cause for real change in neighborhood safety and management, instead of stupid political games. If we get the police the same scanners used by private security guards to make sure they patrol all areas then perhaps our public security guards (Miami Police) would also be doing a better job covering all areas of their responsibilities. Unfortunately they do not believe they are just security guards, who sometimes see themselves above the law, therefore the lack of initiative.
Why were the cops doing DUI checks when they could be patroling the Grove? Seems to me the local commissioner should have the police do their jobs of patrolling and not entrapment.
um most of you are fucking retards, i mean for christs sake, Sarnoff doesn't set up dui checkpoints and aparently this happened at 3:30 so in theory everyone should have neen out heading home or wherever.
BUT that fact that it took place less than a block from the other rape is disgraceful i mean dont they beef up patrols in an area that a serious crime is committed and the perpetrator is still on the lose?
i mean i actually said to several women i know that live on Virginia that i'm sure the cops will have their eye out there and it's probably the safest street in the grove right now! yea i'm a moron apparently...
also i thought we had an award winning neighborhood watch here, what do they do besides send emails? excuse me i just feel it's time to hit the streets and shoot some rapist bastard
Please be careful because on Thursday Night (the day before this rape) at the intersection of gifford and jackson @ 8:30 pm i was flashed two times by a black man in a dark blue pt cruiser. the second time he actually drove past me got out of the car and faced me and started thrusting and flashed me. which freaked me out being a woman walking my dogs by myself. ( i did call 911)
Well, Erik, thanks for telling it like it is. WHERE ARE THE POLICE???????????????????????????
I am equally outraged, saw the news about the attack on Channel 7 News tonight at 6pm -- very disturbing.
as a concern citizen and someone who works with the police, I can tell you its easy to point fingers at the police. This incident is horrible but crime has gone down in coconut grove by a large percentage.
Fact; The cops on Main Highway do not patrol the Grove, They are paid through the police off duty office by the restaurants to remain there.
Fact; The locations of these incidents had contributing factors such as rental properties with poor lighting and zero crime prevention security.
Instead of making up excuses about the police stop and say hello to one let him/her know your concerns and measures YOU AS A RESIDENT can do to improve your area.
STop blaiming the police did you guys forget that you live in Miami the number three most dangerous city in the U.S.? More police have been shot and killed the last couple of years than any other.
You folks are pathetic blaiming the police who risk their lives and time away from their families while you sleep. Yes, horrible to have this crime occur but the police cannot stop every black man in the grove they have to follow the law and i am confident they will catch this guy.
Anon 7:57pm -- I as a resident can demand increased police presence in an area that has had TWO VIOLENT SEXUAL ATTACKS IN THE LAST THREE WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hey i'm just sayin back in the mid 90's we had a real crime problem in the grove and when they decided to do something about it there was a police helicopter over the grove every night when something like this would happen, the cops would just go on the warpath and hunt these guys down, you couldn't throw a rock out your door without hitting a cop and i talked with them every morning at jofferys coffee. we had a whole team of grove cops everyone knew.
now i dont know how the system is set up these days but i dont seem to get the feel of community interaction (police saying hi walking the beat getting to know the neighbors etc..) i used to with the police and i dont seem to see the same officers here all the time and i live on Virginia a half block from where these happened and i haven't seen a increase in police in the area and i walk my dog at all hours so i'd notice.
i pay a premium to live in the grove and the grove tax dollars pay way more than their share in the city and i expect to get premium service in return. some may say that's not fair but everyone knows that's bullshit if this happened in cocoplum or gables estates it would look like marshal law over there right now.
now if ya wanna blame something how about miami annexing the grove? let us revert back to being our own city and we would have tons of money to police the area and tell the city of miami to piss off on their opinion of when the bars close here ;)
Anon 6:21:
Thank you for letting us know. I will warn my female friends & my mom who walk their dogs in the Grove. That is very scary.
I live in this area, and for the first time I am scared to go for a walk, or be out after sunset. I am not easily intimidated, I am really freaking out about this.
Has anyone noted an increased police presence in the area because I have not.
Nor have I noticed extra police presence in the area. Shameful.
I live on Tigertrail and I always see cops in the Grove, and I saw several last night. What are you guys talking about?
Anon 8 am,
I always see cops in the center grove, but they are not often patroling the surrounding streets.
well i walked my dog last night around 1 and saw 5 cop cars while walking from oak to day on Virginia, seems they have stepped up patrols as this is more cops than i've seen at that time in the past month.
The City pays firemen over $250,000 per year and the unions force the City to make massive contributions to their handsome pension plans. That means there is less money to pay for police and police patrols.
Tell your elected officials you want security and you want pay to reflect the real world, not some fantasy world.
If everyone is so concerned about Mr. Moes, when is the last time u saw a Village Council member in there? Why don't they help Moes by patronizing it? Why doesn't the new UM student Murray on Village Council do something to get UM to bring back their buses into the Grove on weekends? When is the last time you saw Mr. Moe's advertising? Maybe they need to promote themselves!
yea you braindead retard every firefighter makes a quarter million a year, i was wondering why all those bentley's were parked across the street *rolls eyes*
"(Miami, Florida)—The City of Miami will be recruiting for Firefighters starting Tuesday, February 20, 2007. The City of Miami Firefighters earn training pay of $34,054 and a starting salary of $37,837 during probation, and receive excellent benefits, pension, training and outstanding promotional opportunities."
" The City of Miami is hoping an increase in base pay, along with bonuses, will be enough to attract qualified applicants to the understaffed police department.
On Monday, the city launched a new public campaign termed RSVP "Rewarding Salaries for Valuable Police."
According to a news release, "those hired will be able to reap the rewards of a great career in law enforcement under a recently ratified labor agreement, which will offer a starting annual salary of $44,592 plus a $2,000 Crime Prevention Pay as of October 1, 2007."
and really shut the fuck up about moes it is in no way involved in this, well except in the minds of dumbasses.
for the record i wish the party went on 24/7 in the grove!
Erik, for the record, this will be your last filthy mouthed comment in the Grapevine.
Let's politicize rape, awesome!
For goodness sake, once again you all are arguing! Please, let us at least try to conduct ourselves in a civlized manner and instead of slinging barbs, work together to protect the citizens of the Grove. I live very close to both of the incidents,and am very alarmed. I have tried to alert young women as to the danger and I appreciate the positive comments from Lili and AnneMarie. I trust that the police are investigating these crimes to the best of their ability and we should all keep our eyes and ears open...
Lets make the Bar owners happy and have a 24hour liquor license. This will attract only the finest people of Miami. Drive through Downtown at 5am and you will see what I mean.......
Crime happens everywhere. It is not unique to Miami. We could use more cops and better lighting. But, otherwise, chill out. The police will catch this dirtbag.
CLL
For the people that are linking a rape of a girl with Sarnoff and the 5 am closing....for shame.
Exactly. Its pretty sad and disturbing that a bar closing time is even being discussed here. Get off your goddamn soapboxes and have some friggin respect already.
Aside from Halloween, I have not seen a police officer outside of his police cruiser in coconut grove in more than a year, unless he is stopping at a convenience store.
They need to walk the beat!!! That is how police work is done. Sitting in a cruiser doesn't protect against this. Miami is the only city I know of where you never see a cop walking down the street.
John and other commenters show their higher IQ by noting that this crime and the 5:AM issue are not related.
Holy smokes. What will all of the anonymous typists do, when this issue is resolved?
Grape, I really think it's time to completely eliminate the anonymous comments. This is too much.
As a woman in my mid 20's just having moved to the grove and apparently I am on the "bad side" across Mc'donald this sickens me... I can't believe that this would happen twice and this time a girl who wasn't walking alone but sitting in the false safety of her own car. We need more information on how to defend ourselves legally and if in a similar situation how to use a vehicle as a weapon... I really hope they catch this creep.
The UM crowd will not come back until the 5AM is back, why is it a problem to have future graduate students come to the Grove.
It is not because we have age that that the Grove needs to age.
The Blade.
It's interesting you removed the artist's rendering of the suspect for the first rape. I helped hand out flyers yesterday in Center Grove from Commander Martin with the sketch from the first victim, stating that work was still being done as far as trying to link the two criminals was concerned. The feeling is the more exposure leads to more knowledge and interest. Even people that we gave a flyer to in person were pleased to have the picture. Hundreds are now in residents' and businesses hands.
The image is still on the story for the first rape, I removed the image from this story because there was conflicting stories about whether that was the correct image or not.
I live on virginia street and see the police often at night. the truth is we cannot have one cop per household. We can improve our security in our own homes. I have not seen one home with a security camera that could have captured this nut on video. I am buying one and installing motion sensor lights.
Anon 4:08 - not to beat my point into the ground, or anyone's head, but have you ever, ever, EVER, seen a cop walk the beat in coconut grove, other than with code enforcement or when sitting on a stool in front of a bar, moonlighting as security for said bar?
in 7 years, I have not... not once.
It's easy to avoid/ hide from cars, because you see them coming.
I have seen several bike cops during the day and a couple sunday night walking down Virginia ST. I am sure the police want to catch this guy as much as we do. Give the cops a break this is a large city with murders and robberies occuring every day.
This is really sad and terrifying. I moved to this area from NYC and have to say am completely disgusted with "the grove". I feel like I have reverted to the segregated south of the 1950's. Everyone is freaking out this incident happened on the "good side" of the grove when people need to be concerned with what is happening with the entire community. Wake up people!
sorry about that i tend to be a little heavy on the foul language in general, but some of the nonsense that was posted here just had my blood boiling ;)
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