2 men arrested in connection with armed robbery of UPS driver

EL PORTAL, Fla. – Two men have been arrested following the Aug. 16 armed robbery of a UPS driver in El Portal, authorities announced Wednesday.

Tenarick Eugene Taylor and Chuvez Lorrick Hannibel, both 21, and from Miami, were taken into custody Aug. 29.

According to El Portal police, the victim was eating lunch in his UPS truck in the rear parking lot of an abandoned church at 205 NE 87th St., as he commonly did once most of the packages had been delivered, when the duo pulled into the parking lot in a Dodge Charger and approached the truck.

Police said the suspects entered the UPS truck through the passenger side and Taylor pulled out a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.

According to authorities, Taylor rifled through the driver's pockets and then went to the back of the truck to go through undelivered packages while Hannibel kept guard over the driver.

Police said Taylor took the victim's wallet and the duo then fled the scene in the Charger. 

Police said the UPS driver was speaking to detectives from the El Portal Police Department when he got a notification from his bank that his card was being used at the Sushi Sake at 13551 Biscayne Blvd.

"When the victim's credit card was denied at the point of purchase at the Sushi Sake, Taylor used a second credit card, belonging to the UPS driver victim, to complete the purchase," the Police Department stated in a news release. "The offenders and two other unidentified males (at the time) ate part of the food at the restaurant (and) then left with a to-go bag."

Police said gang unit detectives from the Miami Police Department saw a Facebook video a short time later of the suspects singing in a car after leaving the restaurant. Police said the to-go bag could be seen in the video, as well as the handgun with an extended magazine as the UPS driver described. One of the men was also wearing the same clothing as described by the victim, police said.

After further investigation by the El Portal Police Department, Miami Police Department and Miami-Dade Police Department, the suspects were taken into custody the night of Aug. 29, authorities said.

"Their arrogance of going to eat just after pulling a robbery and later showing off in a video was these robbers' downfall," the El Portal Police Department stated in the news release. "By the same token, the perseverance of the Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department and the El Portal Police Department brought two (and perhaps more….moving forward) to justice."

Taylor remains in custody at the Miami-Dade County Pre-Trial Detention Center.

He faces numerous charges, including armed robbery, armed burglary, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, unlawful possession of a stolen credit or debit card, fraudulent use of a credit card and grand theft of a firearm.