A 22-year-old man named William Robinson has been taken into custody in connection with the robbery and fatal shooting of a North Miami Beach smoke shop employee. The tragic event which took place June 11 at Miami Cloudz smoke shop, located at 2063 Northeast 163rd Street, resulted in the death of the employee, 35-year-old Salem Albakri. According to an arrest warrant, the entire altercation was caught on the store's surveillance cameras, as reported NBC Miami.
Robinson was arrested yesterday, charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. The surveillance footage from the crime scene revealed a group of four males entering the shop and interacting with Albakri before one man, seen wearing a red hoodie, produced a firearm. Albakri, trying to escape, was shot in the back and later pronounced dead at the scene. In a twist of technology aiding the law, it was revealed that investigators managed to use fingerprints lifted from a glass counter and facial recognition software to positively identify Robinson. He had previously been arrested on September 12, 2023, in Miami Beach, which provided law enforcement with the necessary records to confirm his identity quickly.
An article from Local 10 adds that Robinson, while viewing merchandise prior to the incident, had put his left hand on the counter—an action that left his fingerprints, leading to his identification. Following his arrest, Robinson was extradited to Miami-Dade County and is being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Details provided by the authorities indicate that the alarm was raised not by an automated system but by an associated third party who knew Albakri and grew concerned after he did not answer his phone. This individual had access to the store’s surveillance system and upon checking, discovered Albakri unresponsive on the shop floor. The police were subsequently alerted. As of the last updates, the other three suspects involved in the robbery and murder have not been publicly identified or detained.
The loss of Salem Albakri, a store owner who recently opened his business purportedly to support himself and his wife, underscores the lurking perils small business owners face in our communities. The investigation continues as local agencies probe to ascertain the whereabouts and identities of the remaining suspects implicated in this criminal act.
