- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of South Florida and help keep the future of New Times free.
Melissa Rodriguez was collecting seashells on Hollywood Beach hours after the last fireworks had dimmed on the Fourth of
Rodriguez had become a victim of what appeared to be a string of Independence Day petty thefts on Hollywood Beach.
Soon after, Hollywood police got a call from the Desoto Inn, four blocks up Ocean Drive from where Rodriguez was robbed. Josias Valero, a resident, told them he had been woken up by his barking dog and found a man on his balcony trying to break in through his sliding glass door.
According to the police report, when Valero confronted the man, “the suspect asked him if he could take a hat he had on the balcony.” Valero called the cops and the man fled on a bicycle.
At about 2 a.m. on July 5, Hollywood police arrested 24-year-old Miramar resident Darwin Castillo as he was biking down Ocean Drive. His arrest report said he was carrying several pairs of shirts and pants, including some with the Desoto Inn logo on them, a purse, two sets of binoculars, several battery chargers, and “a cooler with two sunglasses and a six pack of cold lite beer.”
Rodriguez and Valero both identified Castillo as the man who had robbed them. According to the police report, Rodriguez “also identified the black jeans he was wearing as the ones that he took from her.”
Keep New Times Broward-Palm Beach Free... Since we started New Times Broward-Palm Beach, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering South Florida with no paywalls.
