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May 9, 2008 10:56 pm US/Eastern
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Boca Police: Aventura Detainee Not Their Suspect
Aventura Police Arrested A 28-Year-Old Man For Disorderly Conduct At The Aventura Mall
Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers 1-800-458-TIPS
AVENTURA (CBS4) ―
Boca Raton police on Friday said the man arrested at the Aventura mall earlier in the day for disorderly conduct is not a suspect in the Boca Town Center murders last year; their detectives were contacted to interview the 28-year old student from North Miami as a 'person of interest'.
In addition, a woman known as 'Jane Doe' who was attacked at the Boca mall in August, said the man now held in a Dade County jail is not the one who attacked her.
Aventura police earlier in the day said a shopper at the mall spotted a person who looked like the man in surveillance video released on Thursday, showing a suspicious man who resembled the police-supplied sketch of the Boca Town Center murder suspect.
The shopper immediately called mall security, who in turn, called police. When officers arrived, they found the man at the Apple computer store and began talking with him. When asked to provide ID, the man said he had lost his wallet. He was able to provide a US Passport which indicated he is a resident of North Miami. His occupation is a student, according to police.
Police said when they asked if he had a hat, he showed them a wide-brimmed hat similar to the one shown in the police sketch of the mall murder suspect. When asked if he had sunglasses, he showed them sunglasses similar those in the sketch. Upon further questioning, he became argumentative and belligerent, said police, and that's when officers took him into custody.
After the arrest, Aventura Police Capt. Skip Washa met with reporters and said, "We met with the individual, and took him outside. We wanted ID. He started to get belligerent. Officers tried to calm him down, and he continued to yell and scream, and he was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence. He had sunglasses and a hat that matched what was in the composite drawing from Boca authorities."
The bodies of Nancy Bochicchio and her daughter Joey, were discovered in their SUV outside the Boca mall in December. They were bound and shot to death.
A similar attack occurred at the Boca mall in August. In that case, the woman and her child were not hurt but the woman was able to give police a description of the suspect. It's that police sketch which has been distributed all over South Florida. The sketch depicts a man with his hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing dark sunglasses. His face was covered with a floppy hat. He was about five feet, six inches tall.
The killer remains on the loose.
The Boca Raton Police Department and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office created a task force to work on the Boca Town Center murder case in January. If you have any information for investigators please call Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.
The city has offered a $350,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the killer.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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