MIAMI – Three Venezuelan nationals appeared in federal court on December 6, facing charges stemming from a robbery in Miami’s upscale Design District last year.
Authorities said the group targeted tourists for their high-end valuables, with one incident involving shots fired at an undercover detective.
On Dec. 15, 2023, the defendants drove through the Design District seeking wealthy victims, according to prosecutors.
Officials said surveillance footage captured two suspects, Ildemar Jose Chirinos-Torres and Briann Ricardo Hernandez-Castillo, robbing a tourist at gunpoint near a valet stand.
The victim, wearing a watch valued at up to $100,000, was forced to hand it over as the suspects fled in a getaway vehicle driven by a third accomplice, Alejandro Moises, according to investigators.
Authorities allege that undercover detectives following the suspects came under fire when Chirinos-Torres discharged multiple rounds at one of the unmarked vehicles. The detective was not injured.
The indictment also names Larry Junior Mendez-Ruiz and Raynner Jorland Pacheco-Sandoval, who allegedly aided in the robbery.
Prosecutors said Pacheco-Sandoval acted as a lookout for tourists wearing high-end jewelry, while Mendez-Ruiz helped the suspects escape after they abandoned the initial getaway vehicle.
Investigators said some of the suspects traveled to and from Florida to carry out the robbery.
Mendez-Ruiz, Moises and Pacheco-Sandoval were ordered held without bail while Chirinos-Torres and Hernandez-Castillo remain at large.
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