An officer was forced to open fire on a car whose driver was trying to hit him during a credit card fraud investigation Sunday evening in Southwest Miami-Dade, police said.
Four suspects were taken into custody following the incident which began at the Best Buy near Southwest 79th Avenue and Bird Road.
Miami-Dade Police spokesman Det. Alvaro Zabaleta said the group had tried to buy electronics with a fraudulent credit card but the purchase raised red flags and employees called police.
"They were trying to utilize a credit card that was not going through. There's a possibility that their credit card may have been a fraud or may have been stolen, something that was enough to contact police and have them respond," Zabaleta said.
According to authorities, 28-year-old Dooby Gedeon took off running into the parking lot when the responding officer approached him at the store, and the officer ran after him.
"And that's when two other individuals that were involved in this whole scheme got into their car and drove to where their buddy was running. In an attempt to assist their buddy, that's when they tried to strike the officer with their vehicle," said Zabaleta.
The officer fired his weapon, though he missed the suspects, who were in a gold 2005 Mazda Tribute. Gedeon joined 31-year-old Terril Washington, the driver of the car, and 26-year-old Jessica Malebranche, the passenger, police said.
The getaway was short-lived, however, when the trio was caught speeding, heading westbound near Tropical Park, by officers called in for back up.
A fourth person who almost managed to get away in a Dodge Challenger was identified by Best Buy's security team as part of the group. Police arrested 26-year-old Tramine Beard in the parking lot. It's unknown what charges they'll face.
Miami-Dade Police are now looking to see if this scam has reached other stores in South Florida.
"There is that possibility that these individuals were involved in the same type of fraudulent activity with other similar stores in other districts," Zabaleta said.
