MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A convicted felon who led police officers on a high-speed chase through Miami-Dade County on Monday afternoon had been breaking into vehicles two days earlier in Miami Lakes, police said.
Albert Luis Fernandez, 33, had been out of prison for nearly two months and was on probation until Nov. 8, 2020, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.
The Hialeah gang member made it a habit of stealing vehicles. In the last two years, Miami-Dade County court records show prosecutors have charged him with grand theft of a motor vehicle three times and burglary four times.
Opa-locka Police Chief James Dobson said Fernandez stole a Dodge Ram pickup truck from Noel's Muffler Shop , and he struck a police car while trying to get away. A view from Sky 10 showed the truck slam into a railroad crossing gate before Fernandez jumped out of the truck and ran toward a nearby business.
Workers showed officers where Fernandez was hiding, and he was arrested.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue took Fernandez to Jackson Memorial Hospital after he complained of a head injury.