A man identified as Alberto Lázaro González, 55, was arrested on Wednesday for his alleged participation in thebarbershop arson of a young Cuban in the city of Hialeah in mid-March.
The suspect and another alleged suspect, Miguel Reyes Jr – both are also Cubans – were accused of setting fire to the business with a Molotov cocktail, after reviewing the surveillance cameras, reportedLocal 10.
The furniture, roof, walls and glass of Fresh Parras Barber Shop, located on First Avenue and 49th Street in West Hialeah, were destroyed and the building suffered damage valued at more than $100,000.
Police said they stopped Gonzalez after seeing him on a bicycle near the intersection of East Eighth Avenue and East 65th Street in Hialeah.
Gonzalez now faces charges of robbery, first-degree arson and throwing a destructive device.
His accomplice, Miguel Reyes Jr, a resident of Hialeah and owner of another barbershop, had already been arrested on March 22 and faces the same charges.
According to the report, Gonzalez and Reyes were captured on surveillance video approaching the barbershop at 60 W. 49th St. early that morning.
Upon arrival, they broke the glass windows with a pipe wrench, and threw two lit objects inside the establishment.
Hialeah firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the flames.
According to the arrest report, the building suffered more than $100,000 in damage.
The police said thatthe barbershop owner immediately recognizedReyes as a former employee and owner of a neighboring barbershop; and was familiar with González, having previously hired him as an assistant.
"Arson is a serious and malicious crime that we will not tolerate in Florida. As someone who spent his life in the restaurant industry, I understand how difficult it is to build, maintain and protect a small business, and when the livelihoods of Florida's small business owners are destroyed by criminals, I want to do everything I can as Florida's CFO and State Fire Marshal to hold those criminals accountable," said Florida's CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis in a news release last week.
The official thanked the firefighters of the Hialeah Fire Department and its Detectives from the Fire, Arson and Explosives Investigations Office "for all their hard work and efforts to keep our state and our communities safe."
On Wednesday,Reyes and González were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where their bail has not been determined.
If convicted, both suspects could face up to 30 years in prison.
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