Caught on Camera: Woman chases down man who burglarized her vehicle in Wynwood

Victim crashes into vehicle while pursuing thief

MIAMI – Surveillance video has gone viral online, showing a woman chasing down a man to get back her belongings after her car was broken into in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood.

Her efforts on March 29 ended in a crash.

The victim, Miurell Vargas, told Local 10’s Samiar Nefzi that the break in occurred while she was at work.

She said someone noticed a man breaking into cars, including hers.

Surveillance video shows Vargas in a black vehicle, making a sharp left turn while following the suspect and crashing into another vehicle.

She then exists the car and gets into a scuffle with the man, who she said had a Nike drawstring backpack that was stolen from her vehicle.

She said she also spotted her wallet with him.

The video shows Vargas punching the man, identified by police as Luis Machado, after she says he would not give it back.

According to his arrest report, Machado told the victim, “that’s not your bag.”

The man eventually ran off as Vargas checked on the other driver.

Eventually, City of Miami police officers arrived and ran after Machado before detaining him.

Machado’s mugshot shows him with a black eye.

Luis Machado. (Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation)

According to jail records, he was booked in jail on charges of burglary and criminal mischief.

According to his arrest report, Machado agreed to speak with detectives without an attorney present, however his statement was redacted from the publicly released report.


About the Authors

Samiar Nefzi joined the Local 10 News team in August of 2023.

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

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