MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Police arrested a man they described as a member of a traveling organized crime ring Wednesday after they said he robbed a man in west Miami-Dade earlier this month.
According to a police report, 38-year-old Alexandru Eminescu, driving a rented BMW X7, pulled up to the victim as he rode his bicycle on Southwest Eighth Street, near 132nd Avenue in the county’s Tamiami neighborhood, approached him and asked him for “help with some money.”
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Police wrote that another man, listed as a co-defendant, was in the car with Eminescu, who resides in Spring Hill, located north of Tampa.
After Eminescu requested the cash, police wrote the victim offered to help by giving $20, police said, and took out his wallet, displaying more money.
That’s when Eminescu “attempted to swindle the victim by selling him fake jewelry,” the investigating officer wrote.
“As the victim declined the offer, the co-defendant (front passenger) became agitated, spoke in a (foreign) language and placed his hand under his shirt, as if he was armed with a firearm,” the report states.
The report doesn’t identify the second man, and it’s unclear if he has been located or whether police know who he is.
Police said that led the victim to believe the man was armed and would shoot him if he didn’t comply.
It appears the offer of fake jewelry was one the victim couldn’t refuse.
Police said the victim, in fear for his life, held out $200 in his hand, which Eminescu took, simultaneously giving the victim the fake jewelry.
Investigators wrote that the robbery was captured on surveillance cameras at a nearby store and that detectives were able to obtain information on the rental SUV.
They were then able to identify Eminescu.
Police said the victim was able to identify him in a photo lineup and, additionally, cell phone records placed him at the crime scene.
Investigators wrote that Eminescu, a foreign national, is “affiliated with a group of traveling members” of Romanian descent “alleged to be involved in organized crimes, targeting various cities in the state of Florida.”
Police said they were able to determine that Eminescu had returned to South Florida on Wednesday and members of MDPD’s Robbery Intervention Detail arrested him in Homestead, driving the BMW.
Eminescu, who faces an armed robbery charge, gave police a “self-serving statement regarding his involvement in the robbery,” police wrote.
He was being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.