MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Detectives caught two convicted felons after they tried to speed away in a minivan with stolen cash in southern Miami-Dade County, according to deputies.
Detectives identified the felons allegedly working together to steal $10,000 in cash from a parked pickup truck on Tuesday as Tony Robinson and Michael Francis.
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Correctional deputies booked Robinson, 38, and Francis, 41, at about 9 p.m., on Tuesday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Records show a Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office detective followed a white Chrysler Pacifica with dark-tinted windows and a Kentucky tag.
Francis, whose convictions include a 2006 attempted murder, was the driver, and Robinson, who has a history of drug dealing, was a passenger, according to the M-DCSO detectives’ arrest report.
The detective followed the minivan at about 3 p.m., from Murphy, a gas station at 17700 South Dixie Highway, in West Perrine to Banner Tire Pros, nearby across the street, in Palmetto Bay, records show.
Detectives reported Robinson got out of the van and surveillance video shows him smashing the window of a parked Ford F-250 to steal $10,000 in cash that the victim had withdrawn from the bank, records show.
A detective reported Robinson ran and got back in the van before Francis sped away southbound on South Dixie Highway, turned at Hibiscus Plaza, and went northbound on the same highway, records show.
Francis crossed a parking garage “recklessly” and attempted to get away until two detectives stopped him near Southwest 152 Street and South Dixie Highway near Palmetto Bay, records show.
Xena, a deputized dog, searched the minivan and found the $10,000 in cash, in the front right door panel, hiding under the window’s power switch panel, according to detectives’ report.
Robinson faced charges of burglary and grand theft. His bond was $2,500. Francis faced a charge of accessory after the fact. His bond was also $2,500. Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Carlos Gamez is set to preside over the case.