It’s Tuesday, May 10th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Miami Police are searching for a woman who they say stole $200,000 worth of watches from a man she met at a club.
The theft happened in the early morning hours of April 23 after the man met the woman at a club and brought her back to his apartment on Northeast 7th Avenue to have drinks and hang out, officials said. At one point, the man said he fell asleep and when he woke up later that morning the woman and his collection of expensive watches were gone. Video surveillance released by police on Monday showed the man and woman arriving at his building around 1:30 a.m. and her leaving the building just before 5 a.m. Detectives are asking anyone who may recognize the woman to call them at 305-603-6030.
No. 2 - Samples extracted from three American tourists who died at a resort in the Bahamas under mysterious circumstances have been sent to a lab in the United States to expedite results and help authorities understand what happened, officials said Monday.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
The police commissioner of the Bahamas, Paul Rolle, said officials also collected samples from the rooms where the tourists were staying and the surrounding property to determine whether any contaminants were present. He identified the victims as Michael Phillips, 68, and wife Robbie Phillips, 65, of Tennessee, and Vincent Paul Chiarella, 64, of Florida. Rolle declined to provide their hometowns. Chiarella’s wife, Donnis, was airlifted to Miami's HCA Florida Kendall Hospital and remains in serious condition, Rolle said.
No. 3 - The Miami Police Department is being given high marks Monday for reporting one of their own. Officer Antonio Gonzalez was ultimately suspended and lost a week’s pay after internal affairs decided he used excessive force.
It all stemmed from a call for help from a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who said a man was shooting from his vehicles at cars on Interstate 95 back in January of 2021. Gonzalez is seen in police body camera video approaching a man in a red shirt and using profanity when ordering him out of his vehicle, weapon drawn. NBC 6 also obtained the internal affairs paperwork which indicated the man arrested was Banny Ruiz. The internal affairs report says the official review started because a police supervisor reviewing the body camera video saw Gonzalez putting his knee on Ruiz’s back. The supervisor also heard the banter back and forth between Ruiz and Gonzalez, who is heard telling him to shut up. Click here to see the video in a report from NBC 6 investigator Willard Sheppard you’ll see Only on 6.
Local
No. 4 - It took nine months to build the track and viewing areas for the Miami Grand Prix on the grounds of Hard Rock Stadium.
They've served their purpose, and now that they’re being dismantled — was Formula One a hit in South Florida? It all depends on perspective. Some local residents are dreading the thought of Formula One racing happening once a year in their neighborhood. Deedee Gilliard, who lives just north of the stadium and told NBC 6 she’ll be leaving town during next year’s race. She said the volume was much greater on Saturday and Sunday when races were happening. Click here for what else she had to say in a report from NBC 6's Ari Odzer.
No. 5 - Homeowners say they’re struggling to hold contractors accountable after losing thousands in deposits.
Robert Ligouri pressed charges against the owner of a custom window treatment company. A year later, he is still waiting for the case to go to trial. NBC 6 Responds first spoke with Ligouri in February 2021. He told us he handed over a $8,000 deposit to Mark Block but he says Block never returned to start the project. In 2019, NBC 6 Responds spoke with three homeowners who told us they also handed over deposits to Block and were left with unfinished projects. Click here for more on why homeowners are struggling in a report from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones.
No. 6 - The “Comeback Cats” are back — in playoff form. Sam Reinhart tied it late in regulation, Carter Verhaeghe scored the overtime winner and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Panthers beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in Game 4 Monday night to tie the first-round series.
The Panthers outshot the Capitals 32-16 and look to be finding their game even amid some trouble finishing. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat are back home for Game 5 of their playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night. The Heat are looking to bounce back after dropping two straight games on the road this past weekend.
