Clean Cars Lead Police to 2 Burglary Suspects

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Clean cars are being credited with helping police find two burglary suspects who allegedly ransacked a Cadillac, Porsche and Land Rover early Tuesday morning. The vehicles belong to prominent South Florida architect Kobi Karp, who is credited with helping to revive the city's historic Art Deco district. The incident occurred at Karp's property in the 5300 block of North Bay Road.

Miami Beach police said that the vehicles had just been washed when two suspects scaled the six-foot fence along Karp's home at 12:30 a.m. and ransacked them. The thieves removed a remote control from the Porsche but dropped it outside the fence.

It was not immediately known if anything else was missing from the vehicles. The remote opens and closes the front gate.

The person who washed the vehicles earlier in the day did such a good job that one Miami Beach police officer remarked how he could see "visible finger and hand prints" on the exteriors.

"That did assist with lifting prints," Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department acknowledged to Patch.

Police said the fingerprints led to the arrest of two 19-year-olds — Diosbel L. Dominique of the 900 block of SW 29th Avenue and Edward J. Ascencio of the 4100 block of NW 37th Avenue, who had been picked up by Miami police on an unrelated offense. They were riding in a stolen jeep at the time.

Both were charged with burglarizing Karp's cars and attempting to break into his residence.

Karp's firm worked on high-profile projects at the Gansevoort, 1 Hotel South Beach, Canyon Ranch, Dorset Hotel and many others in Miami Beach and as far away as the United Arab Emirates.

Surveillance cameras at Karp's home captured images of two men scaling the fence that surrounds the house as several women waited outside the gate. The men could be seen trying the doors to a bedroom and laundry room and ransacking the unlocked vehicles. Police did not arrest any of the women.

The male suspects were apparently scared away by a motion detector that set off a doorbell, according to Miami Beach police.

Watch as two men scale the 6-fo0t fence around the home:

Photo of Diosbel L. Dominique courtesy of Miami Beach Police Department