MIAMI – A man who used the app OfferUp to steal — and in one instance, rob — jewelry from unsuspecting sellers in Miami was taken into custody, police announced Monday.
David Fontanez-Gutierrez, 33, who has addresses in southwest Miami-Dade and Kissimmee, was arrested after officers located him at a school in Hialeah Friday.
According to arrest reports, Fontanez-Gutierrez used the same modus operandi: He’d offer to buy the jewelry, arrange a meeting with the victims, then take the valuables without paying. He used a disposable TextNow phone number and blocked the victims on OfferUp just before the meetups, police said.
The reports outline three incidents from April 28 through last Tuesday, two of which happened in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood and another in the MiMo District.
Police said the April 28 incident was an armed robbery.
An arrest report states that he arranged for the victim to meet him at Northwest 10th Avenue and Third Street in Little Havana just before 3:30 p.m.
The victim was trying to sell a Cuban link bracelet, police said.
Police said Fontanez-Gutierrez first told the victim he wanted to “try on” the bracelet, to which the victim said no. He then told the victim he wanted to weigh the bracelet and had a scale in his BMW SUV.
The pair walked to the SUV and the victim handed Fontanez-Gutierrez the bracelet, noticing he had a bulge in his waistband with a holster-type clip, the report states.
Police said as the victim walked towards the passenger side of the SUV, Fontanez-Gutierrez said, “I’m gonna pop you,” got in the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition.
The report states that the victim tried punching the passenger side window and pulling on the door to no avail: the suspect drove off with the bracelet.
On Friday, authorities said they located Fontanez-Gutierrez’s BMW parked in a students-only area at Westland Hialeah Senior High School at 4000 W. 18th Ave. A school district spokesperson said he went in the garage just before it closed in order to steal another vehicle’s license plate.
Fontanez-Gutierrez, a fugitive out of Broward County, was inside the vehicle and police said they detained him. Authorities said they found a Glock 19 pistol in plain sight in the vehicle.
That led to his arrest on a felony charge of possession of a firearm on school property and openly carrying a weapon.
Fontanez-Gutierrez is also facing two counts of armed grand theft and one count of armed robbery.
“We have to keep criminals like this behind bars, add more charges, because at any moment he could have taken someone’s life,” Miami police Capt. Freddie Cruz told Local 10 News on Monday.
His bond was listed as “to be set” in Miami-Dade jail records. He’s also being held on an out-of-county warrant.
In court Monday, Fontanez-Gutierrez’s attorney argued about the phrase “pop you” in an attempt to fight the armed robbery charge.
“I am going to pop you doesn’t necessarily imply anything to do with a gun so we would be objecting to probable cause for the armed robbery,” the attorney said. “Pop him could mean punch him.”
The argument didn’t persuade the judge, who said it was “good enough for probable cause.”
“Authorities are urging anyone who may have been targeted by the suspect to come forward and assist in the ongoing investigation,” Miami police said in a news release. “Sellers who have fallen prey to similar schemes are encouraged to exercise caution and prioritize safety when engaging in transactions with unfamiliar buyers.”
Authorities encouraged people conducting online transactions to do so at the designated “safe exchange zone” at the Miami Police Department headquarters, located downtown at 400 NW Second Ave.