In just 13 days, burglars hit three homes in North Grove and one in nearby Silver Bluff. No arrests have been made.
Miami Police are investigating a string of home burglaries in and around North Grove in recent weeks.
Daniel Kerr, the Miami Police commander in charge of Coconut Grove, declined to provide details, citing the active investigation.
Two of the break-ins occurred December 29, the same night that a man tried unsuccessfully to open a North Grove resident’s door on Nocatee Drive at 1:17 a.m. The resident posted security camera footage of the incident on the neighborhood networking app Nextdoor.
Other camera footage shows the same man attempting to enter two nearby properties the same night. “You don’t want to have to get cameras, but nowadays you do,” the owner of one of the properties told the Spotlight, asking that her name not be used.
The next morning, residents reported home burglaries just blocks away, in the 1600 block of Tigertail Avenue and the 100 block of Shore Drive South in the Bay Heights neighborhood.
Residents have reacted with alarm to the post, with some sharing similar stories of late-night prowlers.
Kerr said the individual in the security camera footage is still at large. He declined to say if he is a suspect in the burglaries.
Home burglaries also were reported in the 3000 Block of Kirk Street on January 9 and across U.S. 1 in the 2400 Block of Southwest 25 Terrace on January 10. Police are withholding incident reports requested by the Spotlight.
Speaking at an annual public safety forum last week at City Hall, Kerr explained that residential security camera footage is an important tool to help police investigations.
With burglaries in Coconut Grove up almost 10% in 2024 (compared to an overall crime drop of 3.6%) Kerr advised residents to remain vigilant and connected. Last year 67 burglaries were reported in the Grove, up from 61 a year earlier.
“If a burglary happens in Coconut Grove,” Kerr told the audience, “the whole neighborhood should freak out.”