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Congratulations to Officer Michael Aleman, recipient of the City of Coral Gables “Officer of the Month Award,” for October 2023.
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On Monday, October 23, 2023, at approximately 2:56 AM, Coral Gables Police units were dispatched to a commercial audible alarm at 3800 SW 8 ST (Caffe Italia Restaurant). Officer Aleman was the first arriving officer and observed a white male subject in the rear parking lot of the businesses adjacent to Caffe Italia. Officer Aleman maintained visual of the subject even with a metal fence located in between them and tracked the male to the 800-Blk of Galiano St where he detained the subject. A secondary alarm call was received for the business located at 3830 SW 8 ST (Pizza Hut). Additional arriving officers observed a shattered front door at Pizza Hut. The offender(s) used a large rock to smash the front entrance of the business and make entry. From a distant view, it appeared one of two cash registers had been removed from inside of Pizza Hut. Officers checked the rear of the businesses on the 3800-BLK of SW 8 ST and observed a cash register that had been pried open, thrown on the parking lot. Contact was made with the Pizza Hut Manager who responded and provided video surveillance footage of the incident. The footage showed the subject detained by Officer Aleman throwing a large rock and shattering the front entrance of the store. The subject made entry and removed a cash register from the counter.
Assisting officers observed two other businesses had been broken into. Contact was made with the restaurant owner of Cava Restaurant located at 3850 SW 8 ST who confirmed a laptop that was located at the hostess stand had been removed from inside the restaurant. Wine and US currency coins had been removed from Caffe Italia and located on the subject’s pocket. The laptop from Cava Restaurant was located at the 800-Blk of Galiano St behind a bush and returned to the owner on scene. This is the same location the subject was walki...
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