A community activist in North Miami Beach Florida has informed YW of an incident in NMB which included: Carjacking, Kidnapping, Home Invasion, Robbery and Burglary. He explains what happened & what lessons can be learned.

At about 3:30AM, on Friday morning, the ordeal started at NE 137th street and West Dixie Highway by 5:20AM it ended at 9th court and NE 175th street.

Apparently the victim in his early 20s was in the area of 137th street and West Dixie Highway. It is unclear exactly how his car was stopped, but the victim was told by a short white male that the neighborhood is bad and he should get out. As he was being distracted, 5 black males abducted him from his mini-van and placed him in the trunk. For the next hour and a half he was driven to 5 ATMs. The card was said to be only a day old and he did not know the code so no money was taken out.

He was then told they were going to his house. They got his address from his driver’s license. It was actually his parents’ house since he moved but did not yet update his license. Using duct tape they bound everyone in the house and spent about 20 minutes ransacking the home.

On the way to the house they called for more people to meet them there. At one point there were said to be at least 10 to 15 burglars in the home. Two black woman were also said to be involved. It is unknown what was taken from the home beyond the family’s peace of mind.
 
(Click HERE to watch a CBS report of this incident.)

Things to consider in being prepared:

1. Always keep your home alarm armed. If you do not have one, get an alarm installed. If you have one, be sure it is monitored. Be aware of your home alarm secret code for intrusions. When entering the home in a situation such as this be prepared to enter the emergency code  rather than the normal disarming code. This will keep the alarm from sounding but alert the alarm company of a home invasion. Police will be informed and be able to respond sooner. Horrible people like this need to be taken off the street before they do it again. Have a plan and prepare your family.

2. We must, with all do dispatch, work to get access points of our community reduced from 17 to 4-5. We need cameras at each access point. When a situation like this happens we need to make criminals than twice about entering our neighborhood. Often they go where it is easiest. If they enter we need clues as to who they are so that they can be apprehended and future incidents can be avoided. We must eliminate the words “it cannot be done” from our vocabulary. If we want it, the government can and must help us do what is possible to reduce the crime plaguing our neighborhood.