A man arrested on an attempted murder charge in connection with the shooting of a man in Miami earlier this year is now facing charges in a $50,000 jewelry robbery in Hialeah, authorities said.
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Zion K. Smith, 35, was arrested earlier this month on a second-degree attempted murder charge and is now facing an armed robbery charge, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
The shooting happened back on Jan. 26 in the area of Northwest 18th Avenue and Northwest 52nd Street and left 53-year-old Andre Russel hospitalized, an arrest warrant said.
Witnesses said a man in a white Hyundai with a temporary tag got out and began shooting at Russel, who was standing in front of his home.
Russel ran but the gunman chased after him and kept shooting.
Detectives went to the hospital and spoke with Russel, who said he didn’t know why someone would shoot at him, the warrant said.
Surveillance video had captured the Hyundai driving throughout the day and investigators were able to determine Smith was the driver, the warrant said.
The alleged shooter and the man who authorities said rented the Hyundai, identified in the warrant as 36-year-old Kenneth Knott, was arrested last month on an attempted second-degree murder charge, jail records showed.
The armed robbery happened around 4:30 a.m. on April 28 in the 11200 block of West 43rd Avenue in Hialeah.
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According to an arrest report, the victim had arrived at his place of work when an Audi SUV parked next to him and a gunman got out and pointed a gun at him.
The gunman began removing two necklaces from the victim’s neck as he was helped by a second gunman and a third suspect got into the driver’s seat of the SUV, the report said.
The suspects fled with two necklaces including one with a Saint Lazaro medallion that the victim said were valued at $50,000, the report said.
Detectives were able to identify the Audi SUV as a rental and found surveillance footage of Smith sitting in the front passenger seat wearing a thick gold necklace with a large gold medallion that strongly resembled the victim’s necklace about two hours after the robbery, the warrant said.
After Smith was taken into custody, investigators searched his phone and found photos and videos showing Smith selling the necklace with medallion at a pawn shop, the warrant said.
Detectives were also able to get footage from the pawn shop of the transaction, and the shop’s owner said Smith was paid $30,000 for two gold necklaces, the report said.
In addition, investigators were able to place Smith’s cellphone at the scene of the robbery and at the scene of the January shooting, the report and warrant said.
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Smith was being held without bond Tuesday, jail records showed.