Local
Miami-Dade man accused in three South Florida jewelry robberies held without bond
Janeel Frontal, 32, faces three armed-robbery counts and a kidnapping charge in cases in Miami Beach, Homestead and Miami. Investigators say vehicle evidence, surveillance and cellphone data connected him to the robberies.
A 32-year-old man was arrested Tuesday and charged in three armed robberies in Miami-Dade County, including a Homestead home invasion in which a victim was tied up and threatened, according to arrest reports. A judge ordered Janeel Frontal held without bond at a Wednesday hearing.
Frontal faces three counts of armed robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon and one count of kidnapping. The alleged crimes took place between June and August 2026 in Miami Beach, Homestead and Miami.
In the most recent case, on Aug. 3, a man was attacked outside Meat Bar, a kosher butcher shop on West Dixie Highway in Miami, as he was getting into his vehicle. An arrest report says a gray Kia K4 pulled alongside him around 3 p.m. A man got out of the passenger seat, hit the victim in the face with a handgun and took his Rolex before fleeing. Investigators say the watch was later sold at a Hialeah jewelry store.
Police said the Kia was using a stolen license plate. Damage to the car’s front end and its original plate helped investigators link it to other robberies, according to the reports.
In the July 23 Homestead robbery, two masked men allegedly pistol-whipped a victim as he entered his home, demanded money and tied him up on the front porch with a phone cord. The victim told the men family members were inside and warned them about dogs, the report says. The robbers allegedly took jewelry valued at about $16,000, including a Cuban link chain and a gold chain.
One man opened the home’s front door but shut it after seeing the dogs, investigators said. The report says the robbers then threatened the victim and referred to his child and the child’s mother. The victim could not identify the masked men, authorities said.
Investigators said a search of Frontal’s cellphone turned up conversations about the Homestead robbery. They also said he sold the stolen jewelry at a Hialeah shop and discussed the robbery in jail calls in September.
The earliest alleged robbery occurred June 15 in Miami Beach. A man walking to his hotel was beaten and robbed of a crossbody bag. Surveillance video showed a robber getting out of the passenger seat of the same Kia K4, and investigators identified Frontal as the alleged getaway driver, according to the arrest reports.
Authorities said victim statements, surveillance footage, cellphone data and traffic stops involving Frontal and the Kia supported their belief that he was involved in all three cases. Investigators arrested him at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, where he was attending a scheduled court appearance, and booked him into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The allegations have not been proven in court.