He’s wanted for casino fraud. Now, a Broward armored truck robbery put him in jail
A man wanted for casino fraud in Puerto Rico was arrested Wednesday, hours after he tried to steal cash from an armored truck outside a bank in Broward County — but taking off empty-handed, according to the FBI.
Edmanuel Victoria, 28, has been charged with attempted bank robbery while using a dangerous weapon and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime, federal court records show. He remained at Broward’s Main Jail as of Thursday night on a U.S. Marshals Office hold.
The Hollywood man, wearing a motorcycle helmet, pointed a gun at an armored truck employee walking toward the Bank of America, 18291 Pines Blvd. in Pembroke Pines, before 10 a.m., FBI agents say. Victoria then demanded the the worker give him a black bag he was carrying, and then grabbed it, authorities said.
The black bag didn’t have cash, according to investigators.
Victoria then took off west on Pines Boulevard in a stolen black Nissan Altima with a Florida tag — but not before dropping his firearm’s magazine, authorities say. The victim then chased him and fired around six shots, hitting the Nissan.
But within a “couple of hours” of the robbery, Broward sheriff’s deputies arrested the suspect as he was exiting the car in Dania Beach. Inside Victoria’s backpack, agents said they found a black handgun with its magazine missing. He was taken to FBI Miami Field Office in Miramar for questioning.
Did Victoria defraud casinos in Puerto Rico?
In May, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice accused Victoria of “manipulating” an electronic roulette at the Tropical Casino in the town of Bayamón and “fraudulently” appropriating of $43,000 in “illegal” winnings. According to the agency, the suspect manipulated the electronic roulette during two visits in December, causing it to restart, to fraudulently obtain the cash prize.
A judge in Puerto Rico ordered Victoria’s arrest and set his bail at $400,000, the agency said May 10 in a news release. Authorities declared him a “fugitive” after they said they couldn’t find him.
In San Juan, the capital of the U.S. territory, Victoria is also accused of running a similar scheme in which he illegally earned $19,175, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice said. A judge in April ordered his arrest after he failed to appear in court.
Victoria is in federal custody in South Florida and is anticipated to have his initial appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court.
Anyone with information about this robbery or an FBI investigation is urged to call 754-703-2000 or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Miami Herald staff writers Jay Weaver and David J. Neal contributed to this report.
