Sean Edward Uribe, 37 years old and a resident of southwest Miami-Dade, was arrested last Monday on charges of assault following a disturbing incident that occurred on August 17 at a Ross Dress for Less store in the county.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (MDSO) described him as a repeat offender with previous convictions for similar crimes and cautioned that there may be additional victims throughout the county who are unaware they have been assaulted.
What happened at the Ross store
The victim —an employee of the establishment located at 13780 Southwest 56th Street— did not directly witness what happened because she was reorganizing shelves.
It was a colleague who observed Uribe wandering around suspiciously before grabbing and massaging his genitals over his clothes.
According to the arrest report, cited by the local press, "the witness observed the accused positioning himself discreetly behind the victim and placing both hands in front of him, near the crotch area. When the accused began to walk away, the witness saw that the accused had possibly sprayed an unknown liquid on the victim's shirt as he left the scene and exited the store."
Upon being alerted, the victim noticed that the back of her shirt and pants had "a cloudy and sticky substance of an unknown fluid."
The MDSO sent the sample for DNA testing, and the agents believe it is consistent with bodily fluids.
How they identified the suspect
According to Local 10, detectives identified Uribe through surveillance cameras thanks to prior knowledge of his "modus operandi." A witness recognized him in a photographic lineup on August 19, and he was arrested days later at a probation office.
At the time of his arrest, Uribe was on probation for assault and attempted tampering with physical evidence, which is why he also faces a charge for violating that condition.
The circuit judge Mindy Glazer assigned him a public defender, ordered him not to have contact with the victim, and set his bail at 10,000 dollars.
Until this Friday, he was being held at the Metrowest Detention Center.
A history of arrests in county stores
The most recent case is the latest link in a chain of documented incidents.
According to CBS Miami, in June 2024, Uribe was arrested at another Ross in Kendall for using a medical syringe to spray a liquid on the buttocks of a minor and filming it; during the search of his home, three syringes containing a white liquid consistent with semen were found.
Subsequently, he accumulated arrests in July and August of that same year at a Marshalls in the area, and in May 2026, he was arrested again following an incident at another Marshalls in Town and Country, where a victim in line at the checkout felt a "warm stream" of a substance on their back while being recorded with a phone.
Under Florida law, committing assault with a prior conviction for the same offense elevates the charge to a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Authorities are urging potential victims to come forward
The detective Diego Mendoza, the main spokesperson for the case, emphasized the seriousness of the pattern:
"In your specific case, my unit knows you quite well; it's not particularly surprising, but in general, it's quite shocking that people do this in front of cameras, with anyone around, children, anyone who is watching."
Mendoza also warned that the actual magnitude could be much greater
"My concern is that he is doing this to a number of women across Miami-Dade County. I am sure that multiple women don't even know that he has done this to them."
The MDSO urged anyone who has had a similar encounter with Uribe to contact the authorities, given the possibility that there may be victims who are still unaware of what happened to them.
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