HIALEAH, Fla. – Surveillance video police released on Thursday shows a man who detectives said drank a colada at the San Lazaro Cafeteria in Hialeah and after enjoying the Cuban-style espresso, went out for a walk — only to return shortly after with a gun.
The video shows Alejandro Perez Mujica, who lives in Miami’s Little Havana, wielding a black semi-automatic firearm before a San Lazaro Cafeteria employee quickly handed him about $3,500, according to the Hialeah Police Department.
“The employees were in fear for their lives,” said Detective Scarlett Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the department.
Perez Mujica, 31, took off running and jumped into a black Dodge Journey on the morning of May 1, so detectives tracked the mid-size sports utility vehicle to the parking lot of The Star Motel on the night of May 2 in Hialeah, police said.
Police officers arrested Perez Mujica, also known as Perezmujica, at the motel. Miami-Dade County corrections officers booked him on May 3, and he has been behind bars since without bond. Jail records show he was at the Metrowest Detention Center on Thursday afternoon.
Perez Mujica, who is facing a charge of armed robbery with a deadly weapon for the San Lazaro Cafeteria heist, had an arrest record in Miami-Dade County.
Here is what county court records show: In 2019, Miami police officers arrested him for battery and prosecutors dropped the case. Last year, Miami police officers arrested him for assault and battery, but prosecutors dropped both cases. And earlier this year, Miami officers arrested him for strongarm robbery and battery, but prosecutors dropped the charges and closed the case on April 13.
Perez Mujica’s arraignment hearing on the pending Hialeah police case is on May 23.