Man arrested for burglary at Trump National in Doral, appears in court

FL. – Patrick Smith was on probation in Broward County for grand larceny when he appeared in Miami-Dade County court Thursday for his alleged role in a break-in at the Trump Organization’s Doral property, a prosecutor said.

Police officers arrested Smith, 32, at the Doral Police Department station on Wednesday after detaining him at his home and questioning him about the theft of Honda generators and copper wiring valued at $147,707.

An anonymous informant and cellphone data helped an investigator identify Smith as a suspect in connection with the Oct. 2 theft of dozens of generators at Trump National in Doral, which took place before the LIV Golf season finale Oct. 20-22, police said.

During a press conference after the break-in, Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez said the burglars were disguised as construction workers and used a white pickup truck.

According to the police report, Smith said he was visiting his son in Pennsylvania. However, investigators were able to refute this based on the time of flight.

According to court records, Smith is charged with first-degree grand larceny, burglary of a habitation and burglary of an unoccupied structure. A bail court judge set his bail at $30,000 and required him to prove that the source of the bail money was not connected to a crime.

Miami-Dade County District Judge Zachary N. James was scheduled to preside over the case. Investigators asked anyone with information on this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Criminal Investigation at 305-471-8477.