Lisa Garcia Turns Herself In For Doral Cop Hit-and-Run

Lisa Caridad Garcia turned herself in last night for hitting Doral police officer Carlos Alvarez. The accident happened around Southeast 35th Terrace near 102nd Avenue on Saturday night, when Garcia hit Alvarez’s motorcycle head on, and kept going.Garcia’s motorcycle was demolished, but luckily he survived. He’s forced to get around…

From Alligators to Tarantulas, Miami is One Huge Illegal Pet Shop

Maybe Riptide has been watching too much Animal Planet, but we can’t help thinking Miami’s crop of critter smugglers deserves its own special mini-series. Like cocaine and hookers, there’s a booming market for exotic animals in this classy city, and just imagine the drama: There will be suitcases full of…

Florida City Church Goes Up in Flames

The United Methodist Church Outreach Ministry in Florida City went up in flames over the weekend, and the building was mostly destroyed. Even the church’s playground, which was built a year ago, was melted to the ground.Parishioners say that they hope to rebuild the building, and are accepting donations, but…

Accused Cat Killer May Blame Kitty Deaths on Wild Pit Bulls

It’s been nearly a year since Tyler Weinman was arrested and charged with a string of cat killings in the Palmetto and Cutler Bay neighborhoods. His trial isn’t even set to begin until October 25, but the Miami-Dade justice system trudges on. Weinman made an appearance in court today, during…

Timothy Bodden Charged in Death of One-Year-Old Girl

One-year-old Kianna Meus was found dead in the North Miami home of her grandmother on Monday. Originally reports and quotes from the family indicated that the death was an accident, but now police have charged Timothy Bodden, 23, with second degree murder for the death.Bodden is the boyfriend of the…

Police Officer Arrested After $131K Roadside Heist

Miami-Dade Police officer John Villar has been arrested by his own force after he was charged with stealing $131,000 in a roadway robbery. Villar and two accomplices, including his cousin, targeted a man who had just won the money by betting on the NBA playoffs.Villar pulled the man over in…

Hernan Concepcion Arrested After Attempted Rape of 4-Year-Old

Fourty-three-year-old Hernan Lazaro Concepcion has been charged with kidnapping and lewd and lascivious exhibition after allegations that he attempted to rape a four-year-old girl Sunday afternoon.The victim and her mother were attending a barbecue at their apartment complex, where Concepcion was also present. The mother realized her daughter had gone…

ATM Stolen With Forklift

Trains, forklifts, planes, and automobiles. Today’s News Roundup has it all. In terms of stealing major amounts of cash from a bank, just straight jacking the ATM always seems like the dumbest, the messiest, and, consequently, usually the most hilarious. A Bank of America branch at 9890 Bird Rd. in…

Two Teen Girls Escape From Center for Troubled Youth

The Miami Bridge Youth and Family Services Center provides emergency food, shelter and consoling for troubled youth and their families. Now, two teen girls disappeared from the center on the same day, and police are asking for the public’s help in finding them. Sixteen-year-old Amanda Nazario suffers from bi-polar disorder,…

Dead Body Found at Miami Metrozoo Identified

Miami Metrozoo workers were cutting branches to feed to giraffes when they found the body of a woman near the entrance of the zoo April 19. Police have now identified the body as that of 60-year-old Gloria Marinckovic of Kendall. Marinckovic suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and had gone missing from her…

Ex-Miami Beach Cop Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping, Extortion Charges

A former Miami Beach cop has pleaded guilty to charges that he kidnapped and tortured a Russian man in an attempt to extort more than $100,000 from him, bringing to an end one of the strangest crimes connected to the troubled police department.​Richard Anastasi, a 47-year-old with almost 14 years…

Cigarette Club Killer, Sosthene Louis, Arrested and Charged

35-year-old Sosthene Louis has been arrested and charged in the killing of 26-year-old Lisney Oliveira a day after police identified him as the suspect.Louis is alleged to have asked Oliveira and his friends for a cigarette. No one in the group had one, and continued walking. That’s when Louis attacked Oliveira from…

Sosthene Louis Identified as Cigarette Club Killer

Thirty-five-year-old Sosthene Louis has been identified as the man alleged to have killed 26-year-old Lisney Oliveira outside Club Mekka after Oliveira didn’t give him a cigarette. Louis is still on the loose and believed to be dangerous. He’s described as being between five-foot-nine and five-foot-eleven, around 200 pounds, with two…