SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. — Local 10 News obtained surveillance video on Tuesday that authorities say shows a staged crash tied to an alleged insurance fraud scheme involving two South Florida men.
Hector Cordero Jr., 33, of Hallandale Beach, and Jerry Detres Jr., 42, of Miami, were arrested in connection with the Feb. 25 incident at a Shell gas station at 16800 Collins Ave. in Sunny Isles Beach, according to their arrest reports.
Investigators say Detres reported his white 2016 Mercedes-Benz stolen after leaving it running with the keys inside while he went into the store.
Surveillance video from the gas station shows an unidentified man entering the vehicle and driving away moments later.
Authorities later determined the vehicle was driven to a nearby parking lot at 17100 Collins Ave., where additional video shows it being intentionally crashed multiple times into a concrete light pole behind Milam’s Market before being abandoned.
Detectives also reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby parking garage at 17000 N Bay Road that showed Detres meeting with two other individuals shortly before the reported theft.
Investigators said one of those individuals matched the person who later took the vehicle.
“I knew that the person who took the car smashed it into a poll, reversed, and then drove it into the same poll again, which was very odd,” said Javier Esteves, a lieutnant with the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department.
According to the report, Cordero later admitted during an interview on March 18 that the incident was “pre-planned and staged,” and said he was “promised a portion of the insurance proceeds in exchange for his participation.”
Detres also contacted his insurance provider to report the vehicle “stolen and wrecked,” investigators said.
They said the investigation concluded the incident was coordinated as part of an attempt to file a fraudulent insurance claim.
“We’re very meticulous and thorough when we do any investigation, and we have a lot of resources here,” Esteves said. “The vehicle had some sort of internal problems, and it just made more sense for him to file an insurance claim to try to get the full value of the car.”
“We knew what was up,” he added. “We sat here kicking around ideas, one thing led to another, and it just snowballed.”
Jail records show Cordero is facing charges including grand theft of a motor vehicle, staging a crash/insurance fraud, and criminal mischief, while Detres is facing one count each of filing a false or fraudulent insurance claim and falsely reporting a crime.
As of Tuesday, neither man was listed as an inmate in Miami-Dade County jail records.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
