No Charges Against Woman Who Reported Hostage Incident

MIAMI, FL — The woman who reported Monday's alleged hostage incident at a Little Havana restaurant was questioned by detectives but was later released without any charges being filed, according to Miami police. Based on information the woman gave officers on Monday afternoon, heavily armed SWAT officers breached the front entrance to Joseph Restaurant only to discover there were no hostages and no one holding them. The incident resulted in two area schools being placed on lockdown for a time and traffic disruptions that lasted for hours.

"She did not lie about being taken hostage or being a hostage herself," Officer Michael Vega of the Miami Police Department told Patch on Tuesday. "She felt like she was a hostage."

Vega said that detectives were still trying to determine how much time elapsed between the time when the woman reported a hostage situation at the establishment and when police established a perimeter around the business. The restaurant is located at 1971 NW 7 Street.

"There was a time frame between when she told us that information to the point where it happened that we didn't have visibility of the establishment and whoever was there left," Vega said. "They didn't feel comfortable arresting her because they did feel that she had it in her mind that she was taken hostage or falsely imprisoned."

Vega said that the woman did not wish to press charges against the business.

"She felt like they told her 'you cannot go out there. You need to stay in here,'" Vega explained. "Then she got rebellious" and reported the incident to police.

Police were already in the neighborhood from an 11 a.m. report of an alleged robbery of a man's cellphone. The man said his phone had possibly been stolen by patrons of the Joseph Restaurant.

"When officers arrived they were approached by the victim who was alleging that his cellular phone had been stolen from someone inside the restaurant," said Vega. "He attempted to reenter the business to call police, but was not allowed. The victim was successful at calling for help from a nearby business."

By 1:30 p.m. or so, the same officers were approached by the woman, who claimed that she and others were taken hostage.

"The woman appeared to be in distress, so the concerned officers asked if she was okay," Vega explained. "The woman stated that the restaurant manager was holding her and 10 to 12 other persons hostage inside because the manager didn’t want them to speak to police about the alleged robbery" of the cellphone.

Police then established a perimeter around the business.

Vega said earlier that the SWAT team and K-9 units tried for three hours to make contact with anyone inside the business before finally deciding to enter through tactical means.

Citrus Grove Elementary School and Citrus Grove Middle School were placed on lockdown for a time on Monday and residents were asked to avoid the area of NW 7 Street between NW 22 Avenue and NW 17 Avenue. Both schools later resumed a normal schedule.

Photo courtesy Miami Police Department