Police say evidence recovered after two burglary arrests points to a broader fraud operation involving stolen identities, vehicles and documents.
CORAL GABLES, FL — A burglary at the home of a Florida couple killed in a helicopter crash in Kenya led investigators to what authorities describe as a large identity theft and fraud operation, prompting several federal agencies to join an investigation that police say is likely to bring additional arrests.
Coral Gables police said Geybert Alexander Garcia, 40, and Melany Perdomo, 24, are accused of breaking into the Valencia Avenue home of Henry Parra, 55, and Adam Hlavaty, 42, shortly after the men died in an Aug. 19 helicopter crash in northern Kenya. Police say the investigation into the burglary quickly expanded after officers searched the suspects’ residence and found passports, identification documents, computers and other material tied to suspected identity theft and fraud.
Parra and Hlavaty were among seven people killed when a helicopter crashed in Kenya’s Samburu County. The aircraft was carrying tourists in northern Kenya when it went down, killing everyone aboard. Within days of the crash, investigators say the Coral Gables home was ransacked. Police said the burglary occurred sometime between the Thursday and Saturday following the crash and was discovered when the couple’s housekeeper checked the residence that Sunday.
Investigators said jewelry, electronics, personal and business documents, artwork and two vehicles were taken from the home. Among the stolen property were a 2023 Land Rover and a 2020 Porsche Taycan. Authorities also said one sculpture taken from the residence was valued at about $500,000. Location information from a stolen MacBook and one of the vehicles helped investigators trace property to a home in northwest Miami-Dade County, according to police.
Officers and Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputies later searched that property and arrested Garcia and Perdomo. Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak said investigators found large quantities of material that appeared connected to other potential victims. Police also recovered passports, driver’s licenses, laptops and about 20 vehicle key fobs that authorities are now working to connect with possible stolen vehicles. Investigators also found a Ford F-250 with an altered vehicle identification number that had been reported stolen from Indian River County, authorities said.
Hudak said evidence indicates Parra and Hlavaty were deliberately targeted after news of their deaths became public. He said investigators found that fraudulent identification using the couple’s address had been produced within days of the crash. “We have basically kicked a beehive of a criminal enterprise,” Hudak said during a Friday news conference. Authorities have not publicly detailed how the suspects allegedly learned enough about the victims or their home to carry out the burglary.
The investigation has also raised questions about how the burglars allegedly bypassed security at the residence. Hudak said whoever entered the home knew to go behind a liquor cabinet to disable or remove security equipment. Police have not said whether anyone with prior knowledge of the property helped the suspects, and Hudak said investigators could not rule out additional involvement as they examine the evidence.
During court proceedings, an attorney for Garcia presented paperwork that purported to show the victims had given him permission involving their property and vehicles. A family friend and a Coral Gables detective challenged the document’s authenticity, according to local news reports. Police have described it as fraudulent. The dispute remains part of an active criminal case, and the allegations against Garcia and Perdomo have not been proven in court.
Garcia and Perdomo were arrested on charges that include burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft of vehicles and grand theft, according to arrest records. A judge ordered both to remain jailed without bond following detention hearings. Perdomo was also being held on an immigration detainer. Court records cited by local news organizations show the defendants are scheduled for arraignment Sept. 28.
The wider investigation now involves the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Secret Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. Officials said the passport and identity evidence found during the search broadened the case beyond the original burglary. Authorities are reviewing boxes of documents for additional victims and tracing vehicles and other property that may be connected to separate crimes.
Police have not announced the full number of suspected identity theft victims or identified additional suspects. Hudak said more arrests are expected, but authorities cautioned that sorting through the seized documents, electronics and other evidence will take time. The investigation remained active as officials worked to determine the scope of the suspected fraud network and whether other people participated in the crimes.
Author note: Last updated August 29, 2026.