Masked man robs woman in driveway of Miami Beach home, police say

Armed robber captured on surveillance video

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A masked gunman robbed a woman Thursday morning at gunpoint in the driveway of her home in Miami Beach, authorities said.

The armed robbery was reported shortly after 7:30 a.m. in the 5300 block of North Bay Road.

A neighbor told Local 10 News reporter Derek Shore that the victim was assaulted and that the man told her that he had been watching her.

According to an incident report, officers responded to the 34-year-old woman's home and found her outside of her kitchen area covered in blood.

The woman told police that she was putting her child in her Cadillac Escalade before school when a man grabbed her from behind and put his hand over her mouth.

The woman screamed and the man told her to stay quiet, the report said.

Police said the man held a semi-automatic pistol to the woman's abdomen and demanded her rings.

The victim complied with his orders, but was struck in the face at some point. The woman said she wasn't sure what the man hit her with.

"It's really awful," neighbor Jill Sneider said. "I mean, someone that was that hell-bent on getting that ring off her finger that he didn't care that children were involved."

The neighborhood consists of mansions and villas, mixed with some smaller, but still upscale, homes. People who live in the area said they were shocked to hear about the incident.

"During the day usually, I mean you have a lot of workers (and) you have some celebrities here living in the area and tourists maybe driving by, but usually you pay attention to vehicles," Zarka Sadat said. "I mean, I do when I'm outside. I usually look and see, like what is this car doing here? I would lock the gate, but yeah, it's kind of surprising. I'm shocked."

According to the incident report, the woman's front gate was closed at the time of the robbery so it appears that the man had already climbed over the gate.

The Miami Beach Police Department released a surveillance image of the man in hopes that someone recognizes him.

Anyone with information about the robber's identity is asked to call police at 305-673-7901 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.


About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.