MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Miami Beach Chief Wayne A. Jones announced a wanted fugitive and convicted felon from Texas who went on a crime spree that included threatening a commissioner was in custody.
Miami Beach Officer Victor Palacios spotted Christopher Pitre on Saturday afternoon, after stumbling upon a retail theft at the Walgreens in Normandy Isle.
According to the police arrest report, a woman who worked for Walgreens was using her phone to take a picture of Pitre, 35, who ran up Verdun Court toward Normandy Drive.
Palacios shouted, “Police! Stop!”
Pitre ignored him broke into a building, ran up to the second floor, back down, across Normandy Drive, and into a Mobile gas station at 71 Street and Biarritz Drive, according to police.
Sergeant Vincent Stella responded to the pursuit and held Pitre at gunpoint while other officers subdued him and handcuffed him.
Pitre identified himself as Christopher McMillan, but police officers figured out who he was, and returned $30.26 in stolen merchandise to Walgreens.
Jones praised the officer’s “swift action.” Joe Magazine, a Miami Beach commissioner, had accused Pitre of holding him at gunpoint on April 11 after breaking into his parked car.
Pitre’s alleged crime spree includes breaking into a car on March 14, stealing a bicycle on March 17, stealing an eBike on March 20, stealing a car on April 8, and breaking into Magazine’s car on April 11.
A Miami Beach police officer arrested him on April 15. Court records show prosecutors filed 15 cases against Pitre in Miami-Dade County court, including 10 on April 16, three on April 17, one on April 18, and another on April 17.
Six cases were closed. A grand theft case closed on May 6. Another grand theft case closed on May 7. Four burglary cases closed on May 28. There were also Miami Police Department cases pending with Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Ariel Rodriguez.
According to the Miami Beach Police Department, Pitre had damaged a GPS ankle monitor and fled from a treatment facility on Tuesday, police said.
After his arrest Saturday, Pitra was facing new charges of retail theft, resisting an officer without violence, and providing a false name or identification after arrest.
Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.