MIAMI (WSVN) - A cell phone video captured a group of people as they stole motorcycles on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
About 30 bikers and ATV drivers ambushed a tow truck from Molina Towing in Miami, police said, and left the driver with no way to escape. The crooks then jumped on the back of the truck and got away with multiple bikes that were seized during the so-called “Bikes Up Guns Down” ride.
“These criminals took advantage of this Martin Luther King holiday to ride their ATVs, motorcycles illegally on the street,” Miami Police Lt. Freddie Cruz said.
Police contracted Molina Towing to impound motorcycles that were taken off the street, but one driver didn’t make it back to the truck yard. While driving south on Northwest 12th Avenue, near 68th Street, the driver said, the riders surrounded him. He told police that a man holding a screwdriver then approached him.
Police have arrested 23-year-old Daquan Levon Daniels, but are looking for other people involved.
Daniels was among hundreds of bikers in Northwest Miami-Dade who took to the streets on Martin Luther King weekend.
“Miami Police Department made a few arrests, and we called our tow truck driver, which we have a contract with,” Cruz said, “and he’s doing his job and towing these motorcycles and taking them back to the yard.”
A man in the cellphone video was also seen reaching into the truck and taking a service radio.
The driver couldn’t call for help or for police as six to eight riders unchained the two bikes from the bed of the truck.
‘What has us concerned is this is an armed robbery that took place of a tow truck driver that’s just doing his job,” Cruz said. “All he’s doing is taking these impounded motorcycles and ATVs to the yard, and he actually gets robbed. At any given moment, this crime could’ve turned into something a little more serious, and they could’ve taken this individual’s life.”
If you have any information on this theft, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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