SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. – Sunny Isles Beach police say they caught a pair of booze bandits last Friday.
Photos taken by the department’s officers show stacks and stacks of alcoholic beverages, worth about $1,500, from stores in Sunny Isles Beach and North Miami Beach inside an SUV driven by Glenese Dingle, 40, of Miami.
According to a police report, Dingle and John Henry McDougle, 54, of Fort Lauderdale first stole from a Total Wine store and an ABC Wine & Spirits store in North Miami Beach.
Then, police said the two went to Sunny Isles Beach, where they stole eight bottles of Cîroc vodka from a Navarro’s Pharmacy at 18500 Collins Ave.
Police say the two used distraction as their MO.
“They went into the store and (Dingle) was asking nonsensical questions and when she was doing that, (McDougle) filled a plastic bin with wheels with as much alcohol as he could and he said ‘let’s go,’” Sunny Isles Beach police Sgt. Brian Schnell said.
Police put out a be-on-the-lookout notice and an officer caught up to their vehicle, according to the report.
According to police, the pair tried to elude officers, but their hopes of getting off scot-free were dashed by bumper-to-bumper afternoon Collins Avenue traffic and an ill-fated turn that led them to a dead end.
After that, officers were able to stop the pair along Bay Road.
“We are a one-way-in, one-way-out town,” Schnell said. “Chances are, we going to catch you and that’s what happened here.”
Police returned the stolen liquor to the stores.