Two men are now in custody after a monthslong Miami police investigation into an April 4 armed home invasion that investigators say started with an unlocked front door and ended with a pair of arrests on Northwest 65th Street. Detectives identified the suspects as 25-year-old Earl Gerry Baldwin and 21-year-old Zakis Kawone James, both picked up at a home on Northwest 65th Street. Jail records list each man on an armed-robbery with home-invasion charge.
What police say
Arrest reports state the intruders slipped through an unlocked front door wearing ski masks. One man allegedly pointed a handgun at the lone occupant as the other tore through bedrooms, demanding cash again and again. Investigators say the gunman grabbed the victim’s iPhone 16 Pro Max before both men bolted in a silver Chevrolet Trailblazer. The shaken resident then ran to a neighbor’s home to call police. Those details are laid out in a detailed TV report.
Legal context
Under Florida law, “home-invasion robbery” is treated as a specific crime when someone enters a dwelling in order to commit a robbery. If a firearm or other deadly weapon is involved, the charge jumps to a first-degree felony with some of the toughest penalties on the books. That setup gives prosecutors wider latitude to pursue enhanced sentences when a robbery happens inside a residence. As outlined by the Florida Statutes, using a weapon during a home-invasion robbery can trigger the harshest felony penalties available under state law.
How detectives say they connected the pair
According to arrest reports, surveillance video showed the silver Trailblazer parked near the home before and after the robbery. Investigators say Baldwin was later caught on camera inside the SUV wearing clothing that matched what the masked robber had on during the break-in. License-plate-reader hits and GPS data allegedly linked the vehicle to a home in the 700 block of Northwest 65th Street, while cellphone location records reportedly put both Baldwin and James at the crime scene. Detectives also say video showed James using a debit card at a Walmart in Miami Gardens after the robbery. The publicly released reports, including notes that James waived his Miranda rights while Baldwin invoked them, are summarized in arrest-report coverage.
Custody and next steps
Jail records show both men are each facing one count of armed robbery with home invasion and, as of Friday, were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bonds listed as “to be set.” Turner Guilford Knight is Miami-Dade’s primary pretrial detention facility and handles bookings for in-custody defendants. Miami Police Department’s robbery unit led the investigation, and the case now moves into the county charging process.
