HIALEAH, Fla. – Surveillance video shows when a Facebook Marketplace meet-up turned into a robbery on Wednesday in Hialeah that resulted in a man’s life-risking attempt to recover his property and a police pursuit on Thursday in Miami-Dade County.
Detectives with the Hialeah Police Department identified Frank Guanche, 24, and Natali Negrin, 18, as the armed robbery suspects, and Javier Flores and his girlfriend, as their victims.
“I was selling it and he robbed me,” Flores said.
After reporting the incident to the police, Flores took it upon himself to try to recover it. He said he found Guanche was selling it online, so he arranged a second meeting with his girlfriend’s help. Lt. Eddie Rodriguez said that was just a bad idea.
Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Hialeah Police Department, said the case was an example of what not to do after connections with buyers or sellers online result in an in-person meeting.
“Do your interactions where there are at least officers around,” Rodriguez said. “You should be a little safer!”
Unsurprisingly to Rodriguez, Flores said his plan to outsmart the robber failed. Guanche beat up Flores’s girlfriend and held him at gunpoint, Flores said.
“He put the gun in my face, and he was going to shoot me, and his girlfriend held him back,” Flores said about Negrin’s involvement.
Police officers found Guanche and Negrin at a nearby Chevron gas station and there was a police pursuit that ended with their arrest. Records show corrections booked them on Thursday morning at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
If Guanche looks familiar, it is because it was just last May when police officers said he was arrested after surveillance video showed him abducting a woman who he was having an argument with over money.
Corrections officers were holding Guanche without bond on a probation violation. Records show he has five pending cases, including warrants for a hit-and-run crash and driving with a suspended license; and for a case of kidnapping, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, and stalking.
Guanche is facing new charges of robbery with a deadly weapon, a nonbondable offense, and fleeing and eluding police at a high rate of speed. Negrin is facing one charge of strong-arm robbery and a judge set her bond at $7,500.
Here is a list of safety tips:
•Always meet in a public place with police nearby and during the day
• Let someone else know about the meeting
• If it’s a high-priced transaction, do it in a bank
• Never, ever pay in cash
• Disable your caller ID when communicating with strangers and don’t use your personal e-mail or reveal personal information