Man in Ritz Carlton thefts also targeted Miami Beach residents, police say

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Detectives believe Harold Wilbourn is a serial burglar with expensive taste.

In one heist, officers accused Wilbourn, 32, of Illinois, of stealing a safe with contents valued at about $1 million from a condominium in Miami Beach.

Officers arrested Wilbourn again on Monday at Miami-Dade County court and he was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County.

Officer Ernie Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department, said detectives found Wilbourn used his victim’s luggage in one of the cases.

“He is able to bypass several security measures by following residents,” Rodriguez said.

Wilbourn is accused in two cases in Miami Beach. Officers said it was the same modus operandi used during the recent burglaries at the Ritz Carlton in Sunny Isles Beach.

Officers there accused Rodriguez of stealing luxury watches — including an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore valued at $75,000.

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Wilbourn is facing two counts of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, and charges of first-degree grand theft and third-degree grand theft, records show.

Detectives are concerned that he is behind other burglaries and robberies in South Florida. They are asking anyone with information about similar crimes to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

6 p.m. report