A man was arrested following an unusual robbery at a store in Hialeah

A violent robbery shook a small grocery store in Hialeah and ended with a man in custody, facing multiple felony charges.

The assault, which involved the use of a sledgehammer, an attack on an employee, and the looting of gaming machines, left a scene worthy of a crime movie, but the consequences are very real.

The attacker -a 46-year-old man identified as Suniel Arzola- was captured by the police following an investigation supported by surveillance footage and testimonies, as revealed by the local press.

The authorities indicated that the individual acted out of intense anger after losing money in the establishment's slot machines.

So far, the nationality of the detained individual has not been made public.

A brutal masked assault

According to the Hialeah Police Department, the incident occurred at the store RC La Atenas Market & Smoke Shop, located at the corner of East 10th Avenue and 32nd Street, in an industrial area of the city.

Shortly after 11:45 PM on November 30, Arzola entered the establishment with his face covered and "armed with a sledgehammer."

In a swift and violent action, he jumped over the counter, snatched the cellphone from the employee, and demanded that she go to the bathroom.

The victim, completely terrified, began to scream, which prompted an even more aggressive reaction from the attacker. “He pushed her to the back of the store and threw her into the bathroom,” details the police report, cited by Local 10.

There she remained locked up while Arzola, working alone, destroyed the gambling machines set up in the venue.

Destruction, looting, and flight

With the path clear, the man destroyed at least four slot machines and pulled out the money they contained. He stuffed it into his pockets and boots, all the while keeping an eye on his surroundings.

Then he "ransacked the cash area and the counter," also taking the employee's bag before fleeing.

According to the victim's statement, the attacker had visited the establishment previously.

"He was upset because he lost money," he told the agents, referring to Arzola.

That clue was crucial for the investigators, who were able to identify him thanks to a mark on his right hand, visible in the security videos while he was playing and also during the robbery.

The surveillance video revealed another crucial detail: Arzola escaped on a bicycle after committing the robbery, but dropped an object in the parking lot.

Minutes later, a Dodge Ram truck appeared at the scene. A woman got out of the vehicle, picked up what looked like a hammer, and left. She was later identified as the suspect's partner.

That lead took the police to a nearby warehouse registered under Arzola's name. At the location, they found both the alleged perpetrator of the robbery and his girlfriend. Both were taken in for questioning.

During the interview, the woman stated that her partner was absent from the warehouse "for a few hours on the night of the robbery and returned just before midnight."

She also claimed to have gone to the store herself to play the slot machines, and that she picked up the hammer from the ground, although she said that “she threw it away later, for no apparent reason.”

A partial confession and new charges

While the woman provided her account of the events, Arzola denied having participated in the robbery but admitted to a detail that strengthened the investigative line: that same day, he had lost 3,800 dollars in the local gaming machines.

With that information and the video evidence, the police proceeded to formally charge him with armed robbery, unlawful detention with a deadly weapon, and property damage. However, the story didn't end there.

Escape attempt at the hospital

After his arrest, Arzola was taken to Hialeah Hospital for a medical evaluation.

He was handcuffed to a bed, but as soon as he was discharged, around 1:15 a.m., he seized an opportunity to remove the handcuffs and run toward the exit.

An officer ordered him to stop. Arzola did not comply. It was then that he was shocked with a Taser gun.

The failed escape attempt resulted in two new charges: attempted escape and resisting arrest.

He was later transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK). As of Friday afternoon, his bail had not yet been set.