MEDLEY, FLA. (WSVN) - Two men are behind bars after, police said, they stole mail from several businesses in Medley.
Medley Police officers said the men were caught on surveillance video prying into a mailbox at a coffee distributor’s warehouse on Northwest 78th Terrace, just off the Palmetto Expressway.
Video shows a work van arriving at the warehouse. One of the suspects gets out and walks toward the building. Soon after, another camera angle captures him breaking into the mailbox with a screwdriver.
“Opened up the mailbox and took mail from one of the businesses and fled northbound,” said Medley Police Sgt. Luis Rivera.
The suspects, identified as 36-year-old Yoel Ampudia Hernandez and 41-year-old Duniel Mederos Veliz, were arrested following a traffic stop by an officer not far from the warehouse.
Rivera said Mederos Veliz was driving the van, and there was a cold beer in the vehicle’s cupholder.
“[Officers] located a gun, a firearm inside the vehicle, and they also located an open container of alcoholic beverage,” said Rivera.
As the officer who conducted the traffic stop spoke with Mederos Veliz, Rivera said, the suspect was quick to point fingers at Ampudia Hernandez.
“The driver was acting very suspicious. When the officer asked him who the van belonged to, he mentioned one of the subjects, which ends up being the subject who had pried open the mailboxes,” said Rivera. “When [Mederos Veliz] called the other gentleman to let him know that he had been stopped by the police, he coincidentally was in the area, walked up to the scene and was also acting very suspicious.”
Both suspects appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer on Monday. Charges against them include armed burglary because, investigators said, there was a gun in the getaway van.
“Attemped petty theft and criminal solicitation,” said Glazer as she read Ampudia Hernandez’s charges.
According to police, this isn’t the first time the thieves have taken mail that isn’t theirs. They said Ampudia Hernandez was seen attempted to take mail from another business in the same office park a few days before his arrest, likely hoping to score some money.
“The methods that they’re using are just opening up mailboxes, and normally, most of these businesses have checks of large quantities, and they go ahead and use fake identities to go out cash out the checks. So that’s mainly why they hit businesses,” said Rivera.
Officers said they want other businesses in the area to come forward if they were victims of this duo.
“We have approximately two to three businesses that are possibly victims of this. If there are any other businesses in the area or adjacent jurisdiction that have possible video footage of these possible males matching the description, you can let us know,” said Rivera.
If you have any information on this crime, call Medley Police Department at 305-883-2047.
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