A man wanted for casino fraud in Puerto Rico was arrested on Wednesday, hours after he attempted to steal cash from an armored truck outside a Broward County bank – but left empty-handed, according to the FBI .
Edmanuel Victoria, 28, was charged with attempted bank robbery using a dangerous weapon and brandishing a firearm in a violent crime, Federal Court records show.
The Hollywood man, wearing a motorcycle helmet, pointed a gun at an armored truck worker walking toward Bank of America, 18291 Pines Blvd. in Pembroke Pines, before 10 a.m., say FBI agents. Victoria then asked the worker to give her a black bag he was carrying and then grabbed it, authorities said.
The black bag had no 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 her gun’s magazine, authorities say. The victim then chased him and fired about six shots, hitting the Nissan.
But hours after the theft, Broward Sheriff’s Deputies arrested the suspect as he got out of the car at Dania Beach. Inside Victoria’s backpack, officers said they found a black handgun without a magazine. He was taken to the FBI field office in Miami for questioning.
Did Victoria defraud casinos in Puerto Rico?
In May, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice charged Victoria with “manipulating” an electronic roulette wheel at the Tropical Casino in the city of Bayamón and “fraudulently” appropriating $43,000 in “illegal” winnings. According to the agency, the suspect manipulated the electronic roulette on two visits in December, causing it to restart, to fraudulently obtain the prize money.
A Puerto Rican judge ordered Victoria’s arrest and set her bail at $400,000, the agency said in a May 10 news release. Authorities declared him a “fugitive” after claiming they could not find him.
In San Juan, the U.S. territory’s capital, Victoria is also accused of leading a similar scheme in which he illegally earned $19,175, Puerto Rico’s Justice Department said. In April, a judge ordered his arrest after he failed to appear in court.
Victoria is being held by the federal government in South Florida and is set to appear in federal court in Fort Lauderdale for the first time.
Anyone with information about this theft or an FBI investigation is encouraged to call 754-703-2000 or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Miami Herald writers Jay Weaver and David J. Neal contributed to this report.