MIAMI – A despicable crime was recorded by the vandal responsible and posted on social media.
The video shows the man violently defacing a gravesite and spray-painting over a tombstone at the Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Cemetery, located at 3650 SW Eighth St. in Miami, back in June of this year.
Detectives said the person responsible is 26-year old Brian Rodriguez.
He was arrested Thursday for the attack on the resting site of Andres Zacarias, whose sister expressed her sadness to Local 10 News earlier this summer.
Zacarias and his best friend Jenser Salazar were among four people killed in a New Year’s Day crash in 2021.
A then 16-year-old Alex Garcia was driving impaired and over 100 mph when he slammed into the car, killing the victims, according to authorities.
On at least two occasions this year, the vandal would post the desecrations from a fake profile and tag the victims’ loved ones.
According to Rodriguez’s arrest report, the first incident occurred on March 21 in which a video shows someone kicking picture stands and flower arrangements that surrounded the victim’s burial site. The headstone was then painted over with black spray paint.
The victim’s sister was tagged on social media in the video, but the fake account was closed shortly after, authorities said.
The identity of the culprit had been a mystery, but investigators found a major clue, according to a police report.
“A second camera at a nearby location revealed a white 4-door Honda Civic parking on the swale just outside the fence line at southeast corner of the cemetery,” the report stated.
Rodriguez owns a Honda Civic, and police said he’s also friends with a relative of one of the victims of the crash.
Police said his cellphone pinged in the area around the time of the crime and someone who knows him later made a positive ID from the photos.
He’s facing charges of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, disturbing the contents of a tomb or grave and criminal mischief.
According to his arrest report, Rodriguez caused a total of $2,745 worth of damage to the victim’s gravesite.