Sharp-dressed serial dine-and-dasher had taste for Sports Grill wings, beer, staffers say

SOUTH MIAMI, Fla. – A serial dine-and-dasher targeted a South Florida sports barroom chain, hitting up 5 locations implicit 2 weeks and racking up $650 successful unpaid tabs, according to police.

Authorities said Juan Carlos Rivera targeted Sports Grill, which has aggregate locations successful Miami-Dade County, including successful South Miami, wherever main operating serviceman and managing spouse Christine Marques called the behaviour “so disheartening.”

“Because we’re a household restaurant,” she said.

Police and unit said Rivera, 40, of southwest Miami-Dade, was seen successful surveillance video donning a blazer and sunglasses. Staffers accidental helium likes Sports Grill’s grilled wings and top-shelf liquor, but not paying for it.

“It conscionable affects everyone much than astir radical would deliberation about,” Ellen Fitzgerald, Sports Grill multi-unit manager, said. “We similar to deliberation radical are inherently good, right? And past erstwhile thing similar this happens, it’s sad.”

Marques said Rivera had a method.

“(He) came into the restaurant, ordered a mates of beers, would beryllium astatine the bar, person thing to eat, thing casual, possibly a changeable and past archer the bartender, ‘I’m going to spell up and bid thing for my wife,’” she said. “The bartender puts the bid (in) and brings the bid to the bar. He says, ‘My woman decided to travel and prime it up. She’s outside. I’m going to tally it retired to her, and I’ll beryllium close back.’

But helium didn’t travel back, she said.

“He near a card, and it was 1 of those cards you know, that you get successful the message that’s like, ‘You’re pre-approved,’ puts it successful beforehand of the register, and past the feline bolts,” Marques said.

“(Social media site) Only successful Dade was precise instrumental successful putting each this together,” Marques said.

It’s not the archetypal clip Rivera’s been accused of the aforesaid crime.

In 2024, helium was accused of taking Outback Steakhouse’s motto “No rules, conscionable right” excessively virtually erstwhile officers with what was past the Miami-Dade Police Department arrested him for allegedly eating and dashing astatine its determination connected Miller Drive.

In that case, authorities said helium besides gave workers a paper that had “no (funds),” an MDPD apprehension study states.

For the latest incident, Doral constabulary arrested him connected Wednesday nighttime connected charges of organized strategy to defraud and defrauding an innkeeper successful transportation with an alleged dine-and-dash astatine Sports Grill’s determination astatine 5241 NW 87th Ave.

He was being held successful the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center arsenic of Thursday evening.

“You request to enactment distant from Sports Grill, sir,” a Miami-Dade justice told Rivera successful tribunal Thursday.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.