An incident took place in Miami’s Brickell vicinity where a woman from Chicago, aged 40, was apprehended following allegations of sedating two men and confiscating more than $30,000 worth of their possessions from their residential premises. Identified as Tamika Hayes, she faced charges for invading an inhabited residence and committing a grand larceny associated with the event that happened on February 28.
The individuals who fell prey to this crime were Sean McClain and his companion, Jack Rubin. They appealed to the magistrate to refrain from approving Hayes’ bail plea. McClain expressed his sentiments in court, stating that he had been subjected to an intrusive and distressing offense.
Hayes, alongside another woman, is believed to have initially encountered the victims at The Corner, a local watering hole in proximity to E11VEN Miami nightclub, along North Miami Avenue. After establishing a friendly connection with the men, the two women drove everyone back to the men’s residence situated on Brickell Bay Drive.
Video footage procured from a neighboring gas station apparently displayed the squad arriving in a 2024 BMW X3 around 4 a.m. The warrant of arrest noted that the victims, one of them owning a Rolex timepiece valued at $10,000, recounted falling into an unconscious state subsequent to their return to the apartment.
McClain narrated his experience, stating that he woke up in an unfamiliar state, and couldn’t realize initially that he was in his own house. After regaining full consciousness, both McClain and Rubin discovered that they were devoid of quite a few belongings which included the aforementioned Rolex, an iPhone 16, cash, and banking cards.
Describing the situation, McClain said he was left without his phone, wallet, credit, debit card, license and watch, and had no memory of what transpired. He added that when his associate, Jack Rubin, woke him up, they began to figure out the series of events that led to the distressing situation.
After the course of events, both victims felt the need to seek medical treatment. The incident has been categorized as a ‘bad date case’ by Miami law enforcement, outlining a strategy where women intentionally interact with men flaunting costly jewelry, lure them into their premises, drug them and consequently strip them of their valuable assets.
During the investigation, Hayes was identified as the individual who was behind the wheel of the vehicle involved in the incident. A search initiated based on the car’s license plate number eventually led to her apprehension in Pompano Beach. Following her arrest, she was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center located in West Miami-Dade.
Inside the court, both victims conveyed to the judge how severely the crime had affected them. McClain expressed how the loss of his phone meant the loss of access to all spheres of his personal and professional life and how the theft of the watch he saved up years to purchase, along with cash, affected his social status within his residence.
The victims pointed out they were visiting from New York on a vacation when they were subjected to the crime. Rubin elaborated on the lingering fear stemming from the incident, stating how his parents could have had to face the unbearable pain of losing their son and his sister could have been left without a sibling.
In a plea to the court, Rubin implored the judge to refuse Hayes’ bail, hoping denied freedom would give him some peace of mind and the chance for a peaceful sleep, in addition to preventing such an event from repeating.
In response to these accusations, Hayes’ defense counsel argued that there’s no concrete evidence hinting towards the victims being drugged. Hayes’ counsel emphasized that there’s no proof indicating that any substance was provided by Hayes to the victims.
However, the judge, contradicting the defense’s statement, mentioned that the charge of burglary of an occupied residence on Hayes warranted the setting of a $100,000 bond, in addition to $75,000 for the grand theft charge. Hayes is also legally required to maintain distance from both victims and is banned from visiting The Corner Bar.
The police are currently waiting for the forensic laboratory’s test results to definitively confirm whether narcotics played a part in this crime. The case put a spotlight on ‘bad date’ crimes in Miami and the dire consequences that come with them.