Miami police say a Georgia woman sedated a guy she met at a Wynwood nightclub before stealing more than $25,000 in goods from his apartment, the latest in a run of similar robberies in South Florida.
Bianca Thorpe, 26, of Grovetown, Georgia, was detained Wednesday after detectives discovered a Dodge Durango linked to the crime at a northwest Miami-Dade residence.
According to Thorpe’s arrest report, the vehicle’s license plate matched the information provided by the victim, who claimed to have paid for the suspects’ parking earlier that night using a smartphone app.
According to the report, the incident began early on June 11, when the victim met Thorpe and another lady at Coco Night Club, located at 8 NE 41st St.
According to investigators, the trio went at a Jamaican restaurant in northwest Miami-Dade to get dinner before going to the victim’s apartment on the 200 block of 14th Street. Shortly after arriving, the victim informed officers that he had momentarily gone away to get his bed sheets from the dryer.
According to investigators, he drank a glass of Brisk iced tea and “began experiencing abnormal fatigue, a headache, and sudden drowsiness.”
According to authorities, the victim went to bed after believing both women had fallen asleep on his living room couch.
However, when he awoke at 10:30 a.m., the women had left and his apartment had been trashed, according to the complaint.
Police claimed the missing items included a Rolex watch, a Cuban link chain, an iPhone, fragrance bottles, bank cards, his ID, and a Ring doorbell camera. The report indicated a total loss of $25,350.
Detectives said they used security footage from the club to identify Thorpe, who was seen dancing with the victim and wearing a distinguishing tattoo around her neck.
When officers found the Durango parked near the 700 block of Northwest 103rd Street, they recognized Thorpe’s tattoo and facial features from camera footage.
When approached by a detective, Thorpe asked for a lawyer and was not interviewed further.
According to authorities, the women entered the victim’s apartment under pretenses to incapacitate and rob him.
Local 10 News has extensively covered similar crimes in which suspects allegedly drugged and robbed individuals of Rolex watches and other costly items after meeting them in nightlife hotspots such as Wynwood, Brickell, and South Beach.
In recent months, defendants from California, New York, and Las Vegas have been arrested in connection with such thefts. According to jail records, Thorpe is charged with burglary of an occupied house and second-degree grand theft ranging from $20,000 to $100,000.
As of Friday, she was being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $7,500 bond.
Reference: Georgia woman slipped drugs in Miami man’s iced tea, then slipped away with his Rolex, cops say