A man previously convicted in a series of bizarre battery incidents in Miami-Dade stores has been arrested again for a similar crime, authorities said.
Read more Live updates: Today’s South Florida news
Sean Edward Uribe, 37, was arrested Monday on a battery charge in connection with the most recent incident that happened Aug. 17 at the Ross store at 13780 Southwest 56th Street, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office officials said.
According to an arrest report, the victim, an employee of the store, said she didn’t witness the incident since she was rearranging shelves, but a witness said she saw a man, later identified as Uribe, walking back and forth aimlessly in a suspicious manner before he started grabbing and massaging his genitals over his clothing.
“Furthermore, the witness observed the defendant discretely positioning himself directly behind the victim and putting both of his hands in front of him near his crotch area,” the report said. “When the defendant began to walk away, the witness observed the defendant had possibly sprayed an unknown liquid on the victim’s shirt as he walked away from the scene and left the store.”
The witness approached the victim to tell her what happened and the victim noticed the back of her shirt and pants had “a cloudy sticky substance from an unknown fluid,” the report said.
Detectives watched surveillance footage and were able to identify the suspect as Uribe from other incidents, the report said.
Records show Uribe had been arrested in May in connection with another similar incident that happened at the Marshalls at 8700 Mills Drive in Town and Country.
Read more Sports
The victim in that incident said she was in the checkout line when she felt the presence of a man, later identified as Uribe, who was behind her, then noticed he had his phone out and was either taking photos or video of her in line, an arrest report said.
At one point, the woman said she felt what she believed was the man pressing himself against her from behind, then felt a “warm squirt” of a substance on her back, the report said.
Uribe was also arrested in similar incidents that happened in July and August of 2024 at the Marshalls at 14093 Southwest 88th Street, records showed.
The sheriff’s office described Uribe as a “repeat offender” with two prior battery convictions for the similar crimes.
He was taken into custody at a probation and parole office on Monday and booked into jail. Attorney information wasn’t available.
Read more Judge again blocks Trump mail ballot executive order in ruling that’s likely to be swiftly appealed