MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A Miami Beach commissioner breathed a sigh of relief after the convicted felon who he said held him at gunpoint was arrested on Saturday in Normandy Isle.
Commissioner Joe Magazine reported finding Christopher Pitre, -- whose arrest warrant states is originally from Texas but now living on the streets of Miami -- inside his parked car on April 11. He was one of Pitre’s alleged many victims. Court records show prosecutors filed 15 cases against him in Miami-Dade County court.
“This person was just a bad person,” said Magazine. “He belonged nowhere near society and he wasn’t going to stop. He wasn’t going to be rehabilitated.”
Miami Beach police Chief Wayne A. Jones announced Saturday afternoon that Pitre, 35, was in custody. Miami Beach police Officer Victor Palacios spotted Pitre after stumbling upon a retail theft at a 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 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 Mobil 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, authorities said. 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.” Pitre’s alleged crime spree in Miami Beach also includes breaking into a car on March 14, stealing a bicycle on March 17, stealing an eBike on March 20, and stealing a car on April 8. A Miami Beach police officer arrested him on April 15.
Magazine said the incident highlights the need for judges to impose tougher penalties on serious offenders who repeatedly break the law.
“The fact that somebody pointed a gun at someone while already being a convicted felon, and was released on house arrest—we see the consequences of that,” he said. “You’re only as strong as your weakest link. If we have a weak link somewhere in the judicial process, we need to call that out.”
Court records show six of the 15 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.
According to the Miami Beach Police Department, Pitre had damaged a GPS ankle monitor and fled from a drug 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.
There were also Miami Police Department cases pending with Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Ariel Rodriguez.
Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.