MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Three men have been arrested after robbing tourists at gunpoint in Miami Beach, police said.
Police arrested Alejandro Telfair and Joseph Bowie, both 20 years old, along with 19-year-old Anthony Surprise on Biscayne Boulevard after they were followed across MacArthur Causeway, early Friday morning.
Surprise is accused of being the group’s getaway driver.
The trio are suspected of robbing Alextra Exton and three other tourists at gunpoint during two separate overnight stickups on the beach, Friday.
“Told us to get on the ground, we just saw the guns, and they just took out phones,” said Exton. “I was scared because I had never had a gun pointed at me before.”
She and a friend were visiting Miami Beach from Richmond, VA, to celebrated her bachelorette party when they robbed around 1:20 a.m. on the beach, just outside the Shelbourne Hotel, where they group were staying.
“After it happened, I ended up having a panic attack. I started shaking,” she said.
Just five minutes earlier, two other tourists from Las Vegas were robbed in a similar way, nearby. Those victims ran to the Delano Hotel on South Beach for help.
“When it gets dark, I think it’s prone for people to take advantage of tourists or whoever,” said Exton.
Police said they positively identified Telfair and Bowie as the crooks. Tourists were informed about the robbery Friday afternoon.
Tourist Lateisha Henderson said, “I’m a tourist visiting Miami, and I just said everybody been telling us ‘be careful.'”
“It’s scary. I was shocked a little bit,” said tourist Shayla Forrest.
Lashonda Hackett, another tourist, said, “We don’t come out on the beach at night.”
The suspects are facing charges of armed robbery with a deadly weapon and attempted armed robbery.
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