A Fort Lauderdale man says he wants a stranger off the street after watching surveillance footage of the man calmly walking into his carport in broad daylight and riding away on one of his family's e-bikes, alarm lock and all. Paul Guerrero's wife was home at the time and yelled at the intruder, but it didn't stop him.
The theft happened around 12:30 p.m. Friday on Southwest 29th Street, according to WSVN 7News. Security footage obtained by the station showed a man walking down the street with a shirt pulled over his head before he opened the gate to Guerrero's home, stood for a moment looking around, and then walked straight to the family's parked e-bikes.
Guerrero had installed an alarm lock on the e-bikes, but it didn't deter the suspect, who took one of the bikes anyway and rode off, per the same account. Guerrero's wife, who was home at the time, yelled, “What are you doing? What are you doing?” as the man made off with the bike. Guerrero, who has been married to his wife for 36 years, told the station the theft left the household feeling violated and that he wants the suspect off the street.
Fort Lauderdale Police Investigate as a Felony
Fort Lauderdale police are investigating the daytime theft as a felony case, the station reports, and are asking anyone with helpful information to contact investigators. Residents with information but no urgency to report can reach the department's non-emergency line at 954-764-HELP (4357) or file a report through its online incident portal, according to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, which asks that 911 be reserved for in-progress emergencies or active threats.
Anyone hoping to stay anonymous can also go through Broward County Crime Stoppers, which offers rewards of up to $5,000 for tips leading to an arrest in felony cases, according to Broward Crime Stoppers. Tips can be called in at 954-493-8477 or **TIPS from a mobile phone, and the nonprofit routes reports directly to detectives without tracking caller identity.
Why a Carport Theft Can Trigger Felony Charges
Even though many e-bikes carry price tags that clear Florida's felony threshold on value alone, the location of this theft matters just as much as the price. Under Florida Statute § 812.014(2)(d), stealing property valued at $40 or more from a dwelling or its unenclosed curtilage — including a carport, yard, or porch — is classified as grand theft of the third degree, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Florida's official statutes database, Online Sunshine.
Florida courts interpreting a related statute have consistently treated covered structures attached to a home, such as carports and covered porches, as part of the dwelling's curtilage for property crime prosecutions, per Hanlon Law. That legal distinction is why entering an open or semi-enclosed carport to grab something can escalate what might otherwise be a minor theft into a residential felony offense. Separately, Florida's general property value threshold of $750 still separates misdemeanor petit theft from felony third-degree grand theft in cases where location isn't a factor, carrying penalties of up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine, according to Jeff T. Gorman Law Offices.
Should an arrest be made, any felony charges stemming from the case would be prosecuted by state attorneys in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, which covers all of Broward County, according to R. David Williams, P.A.
Part of a Broader Property Crime Pattern
Property crime is already the dominant category of police activity in Fort Lauderdale. The city recorded 6,729 property crime incidents in 2025, accounting for nearly 61% of all recorded threat incidents citywide, according to data compiled by Base Operations.
The theft also lands amid a wider regional surge in e-bike-related crime. South Florida agencies across Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties have reported a string of e-bike thefts and related altercations throughout 2026, with target models frequently valued above $1,000, as Hoodline has previously reported. That trend has coincided with Fort Lauderdale city commissioners advancing a proposed micromobility ordinance this month that would set a minimum e-bike operating age of 16 and require government-issued photo identification for riders, with fines up to $500 for repeat violations.
Local officials drafted those rules following resident complaints and broader micromobility safety concerns, Hoodline reported. The push for city-level rules comes after Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a statewide bill in June that would have imposed a uniform 10 mph sidewalk speed limit for e-bikes, leaving municipalities like Fort Lauderdale to set their own restrictions under state right-of-way law.
For now, the man seen on Guerrero's carport camera remains unidentified, and Fort Lauderdale police continue to ask the public for any information that could lead to an arrest.
