MIAMI SHORES, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have made an arrest in connection to a break-in and an attempted burglary in Miami Shores.
Body camera video captured the moment officers with Miami Shores Police and City of Miami Police taking over a Miami neighborhood, Thursday morning.
The footage captured officers and a man in handcuffs.
Miami Shores Police confirmed they were able to track down and apprehend the suspect, identified as 42-year-old John Bellevue.
We’re just happy to get him off the streets,” said Miami Shores Police Cmdr. Kerry Turner.
Detectives said they have plenty of surveillance video of him trying to break into one home, Jan. 16.
Fifteen minutes after that attempted break-in, police said, the suspect was able to actually enter a different home about two blocks away.
Police said Bellevue, seen wearing a dark colored hoodie and walking with a bicycle, took off with bags full of valuables that didn’t belong to him.
Turner described the suspect as a career criminal.
“He’s no stranger to crime. You know, Miami Shores Police Department arrested him approximately five years ago for loitering and prowling in the same area,” he said, “and so, this explains, when you look at the video from last week, how comfortable he was, because he had been in the area before.”
Bellevue has had several run-ins with police throughout the years, dating back to the early 2000s. He broke into a couple’s Miami Shores home and was featured in a 2009 Help Me Howard segment.
Detectives said a tip led them to the suspect, adding that the tipster even described some of the stolen goods he had on him.
“I thank the tipster for providing the information, and that’s what we want. We want to put these stories out, and hopefully someone will recognize this individual and call,” said Turner.
That one call led to the takedown that put Bellevue behind bars.
“Thank God the tip came in. Our detectives did an excellent job. I mean, they literally worked this case around the clock,” said Turner.
Turner had a message for those who contemplate targeting Miami Shores homes.
“Stay out of Miami Shores, because we take these crimes very seriously,” he said. “You commit a crime in Miami Shores, you’re going to get caught.”
Bellevue faces a list of charges, including burglary, attempted burglary, criminal mischief, grand theft and vandalism. He is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade.
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