MIAMI SHORES, FLA. (WSVN) - A timepiece thief who’s facing serious charges was caught on camera ripping off pricey Rolexes at more than one South Florida golf course.
Ivan Urquiza was wearing a polo shirt and was even carrying a golf club, but when the 54-year-old went to the Miami Beach Country Club on Alton Road on Jan. 13, he wasn’t there to play but to steal, police said.
Surveillance video shows the suspect as he walked slowly toward the carts and got into one.
While in that cart, detectives said, the golf bag booster on the take got his hands on a Rolex Submariner.
A police report states that, while Urquiza walked away, he was “captured on video taking the watch from his left hand and placing it in his right hand and then into his right pocket.”
The surveillance video, obtained exclusively by 7News, appears to show just that.
Moments before the theft, investigators said, the victim took off his Submariner worth nearly $12,000 before it was swiped.
Staff at the country club were notified, and when they checked the security cameras, the footage showed the dirty deed.
That same day, police said, Urquiza came to the Miami Shores Country Club on Biscayne Boulevard, where he engaged in similar slithery behavior.
Investigators said the suspect scoped out the place, got into a cart and committed another theft.
It wasn’t until June that Miami Shores Police detectives tracked down and arrested Urquiza. They said he already had several out-of-state fugitive warrants for offenses like grand theft, fraud and others.
The Miami Beach County Club was where another similar and notable crime took place in February.
Tourist Tommy McJunkins said he had his pricey “Hulk” Rolex ripped off, before Miami Beach Police officers and golf club employees ran down the accused crook.
“They got on their walkie-talkies and said, ‘Yeah, we saw that guy right over there, and they deployed like Delta Force,” said McJunkins.
It was yet another tale of criminal grabs on the green.
“Don’t leave your stuff in your golf bag unattended,” said McJunkins.
Urquiza remains locked up at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade. He faces multiple felony charges, and his trial is pending.
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