MIAMI BEACH, Fla.

- A taxi driver is facing multiple felony charges, including kidnapping and conspiracy to commit strong-arm robbery, following a months-long investigation involving stolen cellphones and fraudulent financial transactions, Miami Beach police announced Wednesday in a press release. Leer en español Police identified the driver as 48-year-old Reynoso Osias, who was arrested Tuesday in the 700 block of Washington Avenue. According to the Miami Beach Police Department, the investigation began after a strong-arm robbery near 11th Street and Washington Avenue on June 14. The victim told detectives that after leaving a nightclub, a woman, later identified by investigators as 29-year-old Dasheona Ford, approached him, stole his iPhone and ran to a waiting yellow cab. City surveillance video captured Ford entering the taxi, police said. Police said minutes later, cameras showed Ford getting out of the vehicle, approaching another person who appeared visibly intoxicated and removing a cellphone from the man's pocket. Detectives reviewed city surveillance footage, body-worn camera video and cellphone records and ultimately identified Osias as the taxi driver, according to police. Investigators said they also obtained evidence connecting Osias to the stolen phones and fraudulent financial transactions. Police said their investigation expanded following another incident on June 28 involving another intoxicated victim. Police said the victim's cellphone was stolen and money was also withdrawn from his bank accounts. Surveillance footage showed the victim entering the same cab as the initial victim, according to police. The victim later told detectives that he had no memory of entering the vehicle and had not hailed or requested a taxi. Investigators said they also connected Osias to that incident. Miami Beach robbery detectives located Osias on Tuesday in the 700 block of Washington Avenue and took him into custody. During a search of the taxi, detectives found eight Apple iPhones inside a plastic bag beneath the driver's seat, police said.  This arrest reflects outstanding, methodic
#local10   #crimewatchmiami