MIAMI — Frankie David Vargas II of Miami has been sentenced to 27 years in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles for a two-day crime spree that involved carjacking, robbery, and a firearm.
According to court records, on August 17, 2021, Vargas drove a stolen car to a gym parking lot where he broke into nine cars and stole money, jewelry, and a handgun. Around 3:30 a.m. the next day he robbed a gas station attendant at gunpoint and stole cash from the register and the attendant’s phone.
Vargas ditched the car on the street a few hours later and walked to an apartment complex where he broke into one of the apartments through the downstairs window. He robbed the woman who was living there at gunpoint and shot her teenage son when he tried to help his mother. The bullet penetrated the shoulder and hit his lungs. Vargas then stole the keys to the son’s car, crashed it into another car, and sped off. Law enforcement tracked Vargas through the phone he had stolen from the gas station attendant and found him at another residence where he was arrested.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Dewitt, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI, Miami Field Office, investigated the case with assistance from the City of Miami Police Department, the North Miami Police Department, and the Miami-Dade Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Bailyn prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.