MIAMI – A 61-year-old Miami man is facing robbery charges after police say he struck another man in the head with a “unknown hard object” and tried to steal from him just after noon Monday in the city’s Overtown neighborhood.
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Authorities said Pedro Orlando Lopez was arrested Tuesday by the Miami Police Department, more than 24 hours after the broad-daylight attack on Northwest 17th Street.
According to an arrest report, a witness told officers he saw Lopez walking behind the victim at a fast pace before reaching Northwest Third Avenue.
That’s when police said Lopez struck the victim in the back of the head with an unknown hard object, which made him bleed.
The witness said Lopez then rummaged through the victim’s pockets and bag, and spoke to him in Spanish — but the witness couldn’t understand what was said, according to an arrest report.
Detectives later met the victim at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he recounted what happened through a Spanish-speaking officer.
According to the report, the victim said he was walking to a corner store when Lopez approached him from behind and hit him in the head with an object, causing a laceration.
The report states that Lopez then told the victim, “Give me all your money” in Spanish and went through his pockets. It also notes that Lopez ultimately wasn’t able to steal anything following the attack.
Investigators said Surveillance video from MPD’s Real Time Crime Center captured Lopez trailing the victim and then disappearing from camera view around the time of the attack.
The video later showed him walking away from the area. A still image from the surveillance video was shown to the witness, who positively identified Lopez as the attacker, according to police.
Officers located and detained Lopez around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at Northwest 17th Street and Northwest Fifth Avenue — roughly a block from the attack.
Police said he was wearing the same red shoes seen in the surveillance video, along with a black fanny pack and a blue water bottle. An officer who interviewed Lopez about 15 minutes before the robbery also confirmed that he was wearing the same clothing.
Lopez was then transported to the Miami Police Department’s robbery office.
After being read his Miranda rights, Lopez denied committing the crime. Police say he did give a statement, but it was redacted from the publicly-released report.
Jail records show he is facing one count of attempted armed robbery with a weapon and aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older.
As of Wednesday, Lopez was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”
