Man arrested for murder of tobacco shop owner in North Miami Beach

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Florida. – A Miami man is charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery in connection with the fatal shooting of a South Florida tobacco shop owner inside his store in June.

According to police, William Robinson, 23, of Liberty City was one of four men seen on surveillance video during the fatal June 11 robbery at Miami Cloudz, 2063 NE 163rd St. in North Miami Beach.

Authorities said they entered the store and asked owner Salem Albakri to show him “several items.”

One of the men, wearing a red hoodie, pulled out a gun and shot 35-year-old Albakri, who had recently opened the store to support himself and his wife while he was on the run.

An arrest warrant dated August 13 states that North Miami Beach police were alerted to the shooting by an unknown third party who knew Albakri and became suspicious after he did not answer his phone.

This person had access to the company’s surveillance cameras and, upon inspection, found that Albakri was lying on the floor, the statement said.

Authorities said surveillance footage shows Robinson, wearing a navy blue T-shirt, placing his left hand on the counter while looking at merchandise.

Those fingerprints were a key clue that would ultimately match Robinson’s, police said. Police said they also identified him using facial recognition software.

According to a police report, Robinson was in custody at the Broward County Jail at the time of his extradition to Miami-Dade County on Tuesday.

He has been held without bail at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center since Wednesday.

Authorities have not yet said whether the other three suspects have been identified.