August 10 – Florida Man Loads Up Trucks to Steal Liquor

A theft ring with the apparent goal of distributing stolen liquor has been caught in South Florida with goods from the Tampa Bay area. Miguel Angel Artiles Rivas was arrested with $1.6 million dollars of stolen liquor. An accomplice, Ruth Melly Cardero, is still at large.

Rivas entered the alcohol distributorship at approximately 6 a.m. He and accomplices used forklifts and other tools to load up the alcohol for transport. During the loading process, he destroyed approximately $30,000 of product. The stolen liquor was packed into 18 wheeler trailers for transport to South Florida.

This theft took a lot of planning. The stolen liquor was loaded into two semi trucks, both with large white trailers and one red engine, one blue engine. The ring appears to be both extensive and skilled. The time that it would have taken to load these rigs and the supplies needed, including the big rigs, indicate a great deal of coordination.

It appears the thieves got away from the facility easily. While there is camera footage of the rigs driving off, the thieves had the time to take the stolen alcohol all the way to Hialeah and transfer it to a storage facility.

Of course, returning it to the business from which it was stolen will require hiring more loaders, two trucks and a lot of fuel. Authorities are looking for anyone with information on what appears to be a large network of folks involved in trafficking this alcohol from one end of the state to another.

See Also:

• Florida Man Chronicle – August 9
• Florida Man Report – August 8
• Florida Man Headlines – August 7

August 10 – Florida Man Steals Car, Abandons Car, and Flees Into the Trees

The decision to steal a car is loaded with poor choices. Even if you get away, you may be chased by police before you can ditch the recognizable features of the vehicle. A 35 year old Florida man found himself in just such a pickle after stealing a gray SUV in Tampa.

Once he stole the vehicle and the police gave chase, the unnamed thief got caught up in exiting traffic. Police attempted to block in the vehicle to control both the vehicle and the thief. The driver of the stolen vehicle abandoned the SUV while it was still moving and took off over a barrier wall.

The choice to exit a moving vehicle is as curious as it appears to be frequent among Florida criminals. The chance of a stumble and fall, which could actually lead to being run over by the vehicle, is certainly a risk.

Police in a helicopter were able to put heat-seeking tools to work to locate the thief and found him up a tree. As he was able to climb up there, he was also able to climb down, though not as quickly. The thief was greeted by police and a K-9 unit on terra firma and was taken away.

Indications are that Florida police have many ways to chase down thieves of all sorts and from some very interesting locations. If a thief has the goal of getting away after stealing a car, it seems that the ability to climb walls and trees is not enough to protect them from the long arm, and heat seeking monitors, of justice.