A Miami man was sentenced to 27 years in prison for auto theft, armed robbery, burglary and discharging a firearm during a violent crime, crimes he committed in just two days.
According to information from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the first incidents occurred on August 17, 2021, when Frankie David Vargas, 33, drove a stolen car into a gym parking lot, where he entered nine cars and stole money , jewelry and a gun.
The next day, at around 3:30 a.m., he walked into a Westar gas station and pointed the gun at the attendant, forcing him to open the register. Vargas himself took the money and also the assistant’s cellphone before fleeing.
Hours later, he left the stolen car and walked to an apartment complex. He broke into a ground floor apartment through a window.
In the house were a mother and her teenage son. The robber held the woman at gunpoint and stole jewelry and electronics. She hid in a bathroom and her son woke up and joined her. Vargas fired, the bullet going through the bathroom door and hitting the boy, entering his shoulder and hitting his lungs. Eventually he stole the keys to the young man’s Mercedes and fled.
The victims then called 911. The injured man was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery and was transferred to the intensive care unit.
The criminal, for his part, hit another car with his car and drove away at full speed. Police quickly found him thanks to tracing the phone he stole from the attendant.