Coconut Grove rape update

In less than a month, two women have been robbed and raped by a masked gunman in the Coconut Grove and community officials want residents to voice their concerns and ask questions.

Miami police and Commissioner Marc Sarnoff are holding a community meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Coconut Grove Elementary School cafeteria at 3351 Matilda St.

“There is no higher priority than the safety and security of our citizens,” Sarnoff said in statement.

For more information, please call David Karsh at 786-299-0597.

Posted Nov. 23.

Miami police officers and All-Grove Crime Watch members spent Sunday afternoon warning Coconut Grove residents about two rapes in three weeks, the most recent occurring just before dawn on Saturday.

A woman sat in her car waiting for a friend between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. Saturday when a man opened the passenger door and jumped in the car, Officer Jorge Martin, the Grove District Commander for the Miami Police Department, told All-Grove Crime Watch.

The suspect then pulled out a gun and made her drive to a parking lot about a block away at Virginia Street and Day Avenue, where he raped her, All-Grove Crime Watch said.

Saturday’s attack happened less than a block away from where police say another woman was attacked on Halloween. And despite the proximity
of the alleged crimes and the similarity in suspect descriptions—black male, 5-foot-7, 175 pounds, medium build—police have not said if the same suspect is responsible for both rapes.

Police and the crime watch passed out flyers throughout the Grove Sunday afternoon, starting at Kirk Monroe Park at Oak Avenue and
Matilda Street.

According to authorities, Saturday’s suspect was wearing blue jeans, black windbreaker, dark shirt, black skull cap and had a red bandanna over his mouth.

If you have any information, please call 305-579-6111 or Neighborhood Resource Officers Leo Carrillo and Joe Guell at 305-389-7996 and 305-303-9163 respectively.