Man arrested on video after mail theft in Miami Beach – NBC 6 South Florida

A man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing mail in Miami Beach while looking for drugs, credit cards and blank checks, police reports show.

Yoel Ojeda, 46, is accused of burglary of an occupied dwelling, criminal damage, possession of the personal identification information of five or more people and petty theft.

Several residents contacted NBC6 after a man was seen breaking into a Miami Beach building twice. Several pictures and videos showed him stealing people's mail.

According to police, around 2 a.m. on Sept. 15, Ojeda used what appeared to be a crowbar to break open the door of a mailbox at 899 West Avenue and stuff the contents into a bag. A police report said he tried unsuccessfully to open two other mailboxes.

He also reportedly targeted the Admiral Towers at 1020 Meridian Avenue on September 11 and 12. In one of these incidents, he and another unknown individual are said to have caused approximately $5,000 in damage.

Ojeda is said to have confessed when he was arrested on Tuesday and “stated that he broke into mailboxes to look for drugs. He also stated that he used the credit cards found in the mail to buy food, clothing or gasoline. The [defendant] “He also stated that if he finds any black checks, he writes them out to himself and deposits them,” a police report said.

He had five credit cards and an identity card with him, which did not belong to him at the time of his arrest, police said.

The suspect also reportedly admitted to driving his Infinity to the beach to commit the break-ins and is out on bail on related charges, including fraud, police said.

Ojeda was also accused of another mail theft in January in which he broke into four mailboxes and caused an estimated $5,000 in damage, according to authorities.

“I definitely feel like it was premeditated and that we were being scouted and that he's an opportunistic criminal,” said Mark, who has lived in the West Avenue building for 30 years. “I think he was waiting for it to happen.”

Several residents who spoke to NBC6 were shocked.

“It's worrying. We're all on alert,” said Rosie Ciavolino, who has lived in the building for 10 years.

Some were disturbed.

“The feeling of being vulnerable and hurt,” Mark said.