Background: This is the Panda Express situated at 8750 West Flagler Street in Miami, Florida (Google Maps). Inset: Reiver Jose Sanchez-Molero (Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office).
A suspect is accused of ambushing a man trying to enter a Panda Express restaurant in Miami, Florida, beating him over the head with a metal bat, and transferring money from the victim’s phone to himself.
Reiver Jose Sanchez-Molero, 24, believed to be from Hillsboro, Texas, stands charged with armed robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a weapon causing bodily harm, and false imprisonment with a deadly weapon.
The incident unfolded on April 29 at about 10:30 p.m., when the victim, who has not been publicly identified, arrived at the Panda Express located at 8750 West Flagler Street in Miami. As the man approached the restaurant, he was approached by Sanchez-Molero, “who was armed with a metal bat,” according to an arrest warrant reviewed by Law&Crime.
“Without being provoked, subject Molero began chasing victim through the parking lot,” the court document goes on, alleging that the suspect caught up with the victim and “struck him on the head multiple times with the metal bat, causing serious injury.”
The detective writing the warrant goes on to allege that Sanchez-Molero “forced” the man to the ground, “refusing to allow him to leave, and forcibly removed his cellular phone from his hand.” The suspect then allegedly “transferred $300 to himself via the Zelle banking application.”
The arrest warrant includes a picture of the transaction, as well as photos taken from surveillance footage that “corroborated the victim’s statement” and showed the suspect driving away in a white sedan.
Investigators were able to trace the phone number where the money had been sent to Sanchez-Molero, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were able to positively identify him, per the court document.
The victim of the beating also reportedly positively identified Sanchez-Molero “as the individual who committed the robbery.”
By late June, investigators captured the suspect’s vehicle in Hillsboro, Texas. Jail records show he was arrested on Tuesday and is also being held for immigration purposes.
