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Miami man who went on spree of carjacking, robberies and shooting gets 27 years

A Miami man who pleaded guilty to going on a two-day crime spree involving a carjacking, robberies and the shooting of a boy in his mother’s apartment was sentenced Wednesday to 27 years in federal prison.

Frankie David Vargas II, 42, who had a prior felony conviction, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami federal court after admitting to the crime spree in August of last year.

On Aug. 17, 2021, Vargas said he drove a stolen Chevy Impala to an LA Fitness gym parking lot in North Miami where he broke into nine cars and grabbed money, jewelry and a handgun, according to court records. Then, the next day, Vargas robbed a Miami gas station attendant at gunpoint and stole cash from the register and the attendant’s phone, records show.

Vargas ditched the car on the street a few hours later and walked to a Miami apartment complex, records show. He broke into one of the apartments through the downstairs window and robbed a woman at gunpoint before shooting her teenage son when he tried to help her, records show.

The bullet pierced the son’s shoulder and hit his lungs, according to local police, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office. Vargas then stole the keys to the son’s car, crashed it into another car, and sped off, authorities said. Police tracked Vargas through the phone he had stolen from the gas station attendant and found him at another Miami residence, where he was arrested.

Frankie David Vargas II, 42, who had a prior felony conviction, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami federal court after admitting to the crime spree in August of last year.
Frankie David Vargas II, 42, who had a prior felony conviction, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami federal court after admitting to the crime spree in August of last year.

Vargas was taken into custody on Aug. 19, 2021, and was held without bond at the Federal Detention Center in Miami. At the time of his arrest, he had a loaded gun in his waistband and a watch that had been stolen from the apartment, authorities said.

Vargas had been convicted in 2018 on various felonies in Broward County, including grand theft of a motor vehicle, and was released from prison in June of 2020, court records show.

The investigation was handled by the FBI with assistance from the Miami, North Miami and Miami-Dade police departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Bailyn prosecuted the case.