MIAMI (WSVN) - A man suspected of stealing a car from a Dadeland Mall valet has been taken into custody after leading police on a chase and crashing into a parked car in Miami.
Forty-two-year-old Carlos Heriberto Escutary allegedly stole the gray Nissan SUV from the valet section of the Southwest Miami-Dade shopping center, late Friday morning.
“Pointed a knife at the victim and demanded that she give up her car,” a police official said.
That victim, investigators said, was 85-year-old Yvonne Kosidowski, who was visiting from Brazil.
Police said Kosidowski had been staying at Dadeland Marriott located across the street from the mall.
An arrest form stated that once inside the victim’s rental SUV, he demanded her wallet, which had her Brazilian ID and around $80 in cash.
After City of Miami Police officers spotted the suspect’s vehicle near downtown Miami, just after noon, they confronted him with guns drawn, but he refused to stop.
7Skyforce HD was first above the chase where the driver could be seen speeding through intersections.
At one point, a Miami Police officer could be seen with his gun pointed at the driver as he made a U-turn.
“I see a bunch of Miami’s finest with their guns drawn,” a witness said.
The chase ended in the area of Southwest Fifth Avenue and Southwest First Street when the driver crashed into a parked car.
Myra Foster, whose parked car was left damaged by the crash, said, “I go for downtown, you know, when I’m coming, I saw the car, I saw the police. ‘What happened? The car is damaged.'”
Foster told 7News that she’s waiting on her insurance company to see what will be done about the damage.
Escutary exited the vehicle with his hands above his head before officers took him into custody.
Before being hauled to jail, the suspect was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital after complaining of chest pains.
Escutary was charged with armed robbery with a deadly weapon, armed carjacking and aggravated assault on a person 65 or older.
He has a long criminal history with charges including armed carjacking, robbery and grand theft.
No other injuries were reported.
Friday’s chase marked the second in a week that started with another chase.
On Monday, police chased a convicted felon driving a stolen lifted Ford pickup truck across Miami-Dade.
Thirty-three-year-old Albert Fernandez eventually miscalculated a turn and crashed into a railroad crossing sign before ditching the vehicle and fleeing into a warehouse.
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