BAY HARBOR ISLANDS, Fla. — A 51-year-old man said he did not use his position as a valet parking attendant to burglarize an apartment in Bay Harbor Islands, as police claimed.
On Tuesday, Daniel Lopez, who was out on bond in the pending criminal case in Miami-Dade County, said he was arrested and “thrown out” of his job.
“I believe I was set up ... a lot of people working over there,” Lopez said.
On Thursday, a property manager at Bijou Bay Harbor, at 9521 East Bay Harbor Drive, reported finding “a safe that had been forced,” according to a police report.
It belonged to the owner of the apartment, who lives outside of the U.S., according to police.
On Friday, a detective found surveillance video showing Lopez walking out of the elevator and toward the apartment, according to police.
Lopez told the detective that he was working the front desk overnight when someone called for help, so he “signed out the unit keys from the building’s secured key box,” according to police.
Lopez “was not able to explain what he saw or did when entering ... could not advise who this caller was or provide a phone number ... did not notify his supervisors or anyone else,” according to the police report.
Police officers arrested Lopez on Friday at the Bay Harbor Islands Police Department, and corrections booked him at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center near Doral.
“Until I get my lawyer, you know, I’ve got to speak out,” said Lopez, who is facing a second-degree felony charge of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling.
Related story: Police: Video shows valet turned burglar in Bay Harbor Islands
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