Just another evening in paradise

Sunday morning, I was out in front of CocoWalk early, about 7:30 am. I was talking with my friends, who were planning on heading out to go biking, I had just come from the gym. I was telling them a funny story and some guy sitting at a table at Starbucks, named William, was laughing at the stories, too. After a bit, William calls out to me and says, "You should hear this guy's story," and he points to a guy sitting next to him, a young-looking professional guy, who later told me his name was Eric and he said he lived in Coral Gables.

Well, at 3 am, Eric was mugged and beaten up right in front of CocoWalk, right at the tree I wrote about earlier in the month, where the flowers should be. I told Eric, that his first problem was being out alone at 3 am. I guess the point is that a drunk, vulnerable guy, coming from a local bar, when it was the middle of the night, dark out, was attacked in the center of town, not in a back alley, right in the center of the village. It can happen anywhere of course, and this story happened here.

Eric came to CocoWalk from The Tavern on Main Highway, to wait for an Uber and he was attacked and robbed. William, who witnessed the event, said the guy came from behind went low, and grabbed Eric by the legs and pulled him down. Eric was distracted apparently, talking to and perhaps trying to pick up a trans prostitute. I'll call her Morticia, because she looked and dressed like Morticia Adams, the 1960s tv version.

I know this about Morticia, because she was still around trying to scam Eric at 7:30 am; and therein lies the rub. I believe the guy who attacked Eric was in cahoots with Morticia, because she kept telling Eric in front of me, that she would tell him where his phone is if he paid her! The main crook was after Eric's Rolex watch, but only ended up getting his cell phone and no money or watch. Morticia was still asking for money almost five hours after the incident.

Nothing was open at CocoWalk at 3 am, so Eric hung around rather than try to walk home while it was still dark out. Morticia tried to get Eric to walk to the Quick Stop up Grand Avenue, but he was suspicious so he didn't go, but she could have just been trying to get him to the open business to call someone. Two hours later, around 5 am, the guy who beat up and robbed Eric showed up again near CocoWalk and started yelling to him from the corner across the street, he was at the former Coldwell Banker building, William called it "the old bank," when he told me the story. He said the guy had a weapon of some kind (William says it was a piece of glass) and was luring Eric over with the promise of returning his phone for money. Eric didn't take the bait.

I asked Eric why he was still at CocoWalk at 7:30 am, by then Starbucks was open and he had called the cops and could leave. He said, "Look around, don't you see all these cop cars? They are looking for the guy. We think he will return here." I asked what made him sure that the guy would return and he said that he had returned once and he would return again. William, who seemed to know a lot about the seedy side of life agreed, he said he was sure the guy would return to the scene of the crime, but by that hour, there were lots of people there getting coffee and hanging out. So the guy didn't return.

Eric gave me his number so I could call and get the rest of the story once he got his phone back. It's been years since I've been out wandering the streets at 3 am and I don't blame Eric for his dilemma. But I was surprised that this happened right in the center of town.

At about 7:30 am, Eric ended up calling Uber, using someone's phone in Starbucks, and I waved to him as he got into the car and finally headed home. William, who seemed to know a lot from just sitting back in the shadows, was still talking as I left, and Morticia took off when I started taking pictures and calling her a scammer. She was taking baby steps, because he had on that long, tight Morticia Adams dress that kept her from running.