MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - South Beach residents were in for a morning jolt when they witnessed a handcuffed man running from police, but what authorities said began as apartment break-ins would end with a deployed Taser and a trip to jail.
According to neighbors, the accused crook caught sprinting away from an officer on cellphone video posted to Facebook by Only in Dade, is the same man caught on surveillance video wheeling a bicycle up to an apartment building along the 800 block of Michigan Avenue, early Saturday morning.
After he was seen helping himself into the property, indoor cameras captured the unannounced visitor opening the fridge and helping himself to some drinks.
“Then he goes in the refrigerator, gets a water, takes a Coke, goes in the freezer,” said a neighbor who asked not to be identified or show his face on camera.
The freezer is located in the laundry room, where the man had left his bicycle and hat behind.
Before being cuffed and then running from cops who used a TASER on him during his arrest, neighbors say this guy burglarized a #MiamiBeach property, helped himself to someone’s soda, bottled water, Nutella, soup and an English muffin. @wsvn #7News #Exclusive @MiamiBeachPD pic.twitter.com/KVHX9goly5
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) June 30, 2019
The anonymous resident said the assertive thief decided to enter another unit.
The perpetrator apparently wasn’t done with his snack fix. The neighbor said he helped himself to some tasty treats.
“He had some snacks, looks like some soup or something and English muffin and Nutella,” he said.
The tenant was not home at the time, but then the cover of night gave way to daylight.
“Once we realized the light and door were open, then we knew right away what we were dealing with,” said the resident.
That’s when someone called 911. Officers found the man asleep inside the unit.
“Within two minutes, three minutes, they had him handcuffed and brought him out,” said the resident.
Then the slippery suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Thomas Chionchio, made a run for it.
But he wouldn’t get far. His escape plan ended in Taser prong pain in the middle of Michigan Avenue.
“Not a normal Saturday for me,” said the resident.
Great work by officers and detectives. Not only is he facing today’s charges, he was also charged with three other Miami Beach burglaries, two of which were occupied burglaries. #MBPDprotecting https://t.co/vmKLMtwwuO
— Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) June 30, 2019
Chionchio was taken to jail, where he is being held on $87,000 bond and where there are no fridges or laundry rooms for him to rummage through.
Investigators said the officers found heroin inside Chionchio’s backpack. He is also accused of stealing a ring at one of the units.
On top of all that, police said, the suspect was also wanted for occupied burglaries in Miami Beach.
He faces a laundry list of charges, including burglary, drug possession, grand theft and resisting an officer without violence.
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