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A Florida man identified as Claude Vincent Griffin, 33, was arrested on Saturday, June 3, 2023, for allegedly committing a robbery at a Miami Gardens phone repair store. The incident was recorded in the surveillance footage as well and showed Griffin covering his face with a cardboard box.
The Florida man has been charged with grand theft, criminal mischief, burglary, cocaine possession, and resisting an officer without violence. The same has further been confirmed by the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation online booking records.
The bizarre part of the robbery was that the cardboard box that Griffin had on his head, did not have eyeholes. An arrest report further revealed that the suspect had targeted the mobile repair store almost three times that night. The store owner reported several iPhones getting stolen.
How the 33-year-old man from Florida was identified by authorities despite a cardboard box covering his face
Claude Vincent Griffin, a man from Florida was arrested on Saturday after he was seen robbing a mobile repair store at around 4 am local time. The incident happened at Irepair Tech, located at 4500 Northwest 183rd Street in Miami Gardens.
Surveillance footage captured the Florida man having a cardboard box on his head. The footage also captured the suspect breaking the glass displays and entering to grab the mobiles.
The suspect tripped at a point in time, resulting in the cardboard box slipping off. This is how the surveillance footage captured his face and identified him as Claude Vincent Griffin. He currently faces several charges related to theft and criminal mischief.
According to Jeremias Berganza, the owner of the store,
“I had a laugh on my face (when I saw the video). I was sad because it happened. Ten hours later after the break-in, (police) called me from the barber shop saying he was in front of the liquor store.”
Claude Vincent Griffin was found drinking liquor with his friends at a nearby store and was later taken into custody
The suspect was first seen in the footage wearing a mask and entering the store through a back door, looking for a pair of gloves. Authorities confirmed that Griffin then went to a front counter to steal some lottery tickets and some cartons of cigarettes.
An hour later, the Florida man returned with the cardboard box on his head. Hours later, he made the third trip to the mobile repair store and stole several iPhones, and also forcefully opened a box filled with cash. It was further mentioned that the security alarm at the store did not go off the entire time.
The store owner confirmed that cash and items worth $15,000, including 19 iPhones and $8,000 were stolen. ABC reported that as per Griffin's arrest affidavit, the total value of the stolen goods stand at $30,000, with more than $2,000 worth of vandalism damage.
According to the store owner, the suspect was found drinking liquor with his friends at a nearby store at around 5.30 pm local time. Police arrested the suspect and he was booked in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. His bail amount has been set for $23,500.
