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Congratulations to Officer Joel Rios, recipient of the City of Coral Gables “Officer of the Year Award,” for 2017.
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On Saturday, March 25, 2017, Officer Joel Rios was assigned to zone patrol to assist the Uniform Patrol Division with personnel shortages. He was actively patrolling his assigned area when he received a dispatch call that a vehicle burglary had just occurred in the swale area of 1711 Segovia Street. Officer Joel Rios immediately responded and made contact with the victim. Officer Joel Rios began the initial investigation and learned that the victim had suffered the loss of electronics, a briefcase, and files that are used for his business. Upon further questioning, Officer Joel Rios learned that one electronic item (an Apple IPAD) had a locator mechanism installed.
Officer Joel Rios had the victim activate the locator mechanism for the IPAD. The parties on scene subsequently learned that the device was at a location in the City of Miami (i.e. GPS). Officer Joel Rios organized backup officers and responded to the location in Miami. Upon arrival, the victim activated an alarm signal for the device and the officers subsequently heard the device sounding from inside a bedroom at the subject’s house. The City of Miami Police Department was notified and all officers on scene surrounded the home. A short time later, the juvenile subject and his mother responded outside and spoke to officers. Officer Joel Rios informed the juvenile subject of his Miranda Rights and continued the investigative process. Officer Joel Rios was able to recover the IPAD thus making the victim feel satisfied and whole. Officer Joel Rios utilized all resources necessary for this case including the call in of Crime Scene personnel and notification of the Crimes Against Property Unit. The juvenile subject was transported to the Coral Gables Police Department for further questioning and processing before being delivered to the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC...
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