Police arrested a woman on Crandon Boulevard Saturday on a felony charge of tampering with an ankle monitor in a case that began when the Key Biscayne license plate reader registered a hit on an incoming vehicle.
It was the second time in a week Key Biscayne police were involved in apprehending a fugitive.
A Miami-Dade County law enforcement official said the underlying charge — a year old misdemeanor — is related to a custody dispute in the City of Miami, where Mavica Mildred Rodriguez, 37, was accused of battery. She allegedly threw objects at a man last August and was placed on electronic monitoring while her case proceeded, the official said.
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On Saturday, there was a very visible response as four police cars stopped Rodriguez for driving with a suspended license. Rodriguez, who gave a Little Havana address, was taken out of a Hyundai sedan, handcuffed, and charged with tampering with a monitoring device, a felony. The devices are typically worn on a person’s ankle.
In tears, she pleaded with officers to make a phone call. A Key Biscayne officer allowed her to communicate over a mobile phone as she sat in the rear seat of the squad car.
The arrest report stated Rodriguez was on house arrest and had “absconded” from a monitored release program.
Key Biscayne police did not respond to requests for information about the case nor did they answer if Rodriguez had any connection to Key Biscayne. She was alone in the car when stopped.
Court records show that Rodriguez was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight jail and was being held on $5,000 bond. She faces a hearing May 31. A message to a defense attorney was not returned.
Tony Winton is the editor-in-chief of the Key Biscayne Independent and president of Miami Fourth Estate, Inc. He worked previously at The Associated Press for three decades winning multiple Edward R. Murrow awards. He was president of the News Media Guild, a journalism union, for 10 years. Born in Chicago, he is a graduate of Columbia University. His interests are photography and technology, sailing, cooking, and science fiction.