South Beach armed robbery of protein drink is linked to a Lake Worth shooting, cops say

A September South Beach armed robbery could be connected to a July shooting incident in Lake Worth, Miami Beach police said in releasing video of the robbery.

No one was hit in the Miami Beach robbery, Miami Beach police say, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office says there wasn’t a July 5 shooting in which anyone was hit in Lake Worth. But Miami Beach police do say a spent shell casing found at the scene of its incident matches that of a July 5 shooting in Lake Worth.

The scene in Miami Beach was the 300 block of Collins Court, the one-lane street that runs behind the buildings on Washington and Collins avenues. Around 11:40 on Sept. 27, Francisco Sabino was walking back from CVS when a white car stopped near him.

A woman with two-toned blond hair got out of the car’s back seat and asked Sabino to use his phone. Upon handing his phone to her, Sabino said, two masked men jumped out of the car and requested the woman relay the phone to them. Sabino told police he started to turn away as one of the robbers snatched his CVS bag containing hair dye and a protein drink.

Sabino threw himself on the ground as the threesome left with his phone, protein drink and hair dye. He heard the gunshot, as did his wife. Police say they found a shell casing and hair dye on the ground.

The car appears to be a white Dodge Charger. Sabino said the men were white, possibly Hispanic. Anyone with information can call Miami Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 (TIPS).