A man and a woman are under investigation for allegedly burglarizing a high-end townhome in South Florida, a property belonging to a couple tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Kenya.
Authorities arrested Geybert Alexander Garcia, aged 40, and 24-year-old Melany Pavon Perdomo on August 25. According to court documents and records from Miami-Dade, reviewed by News Media, Garcia holds U.S. citizenship, whereas Perdomo is detained under immigration regulations.
The accused duo allegedly made off with two upscale cars, important personal papers, and valuable items including costly jewelry and a piece of art—a sculpture with a valuation of over $500,000—from the residence of Henry Parra and Adam Hlavaty. Parra, 55, and Hlavaty, 42, were among the seven victims of a safari helicopter crash on August 19 in northern Kenya. The luxurious property is valued at nearly $3 million.
This Coral Gables residence where the theft occurred belonged to Henry Parra and Adam Hlavaty, tragically among the seven individuals who lost their lives in the catastrophic helicopter crash on August 19 in Kenya’s Samburu County. (Henry Parra/Facebook)
According to the Associated Press, citing Kenya’s civil aviation authority, the ill-fated helicopter was en route from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County when it crashed in a rugged terrain near Mount Ololokwe. The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The U.S. State Department said five of the people killed were U.S. citizens. The crash also killed Miami restaurateur Roger Duarte; José Suárez, who led Telemundo-owned stations in several Florida markets; Ecuador’s intelligence chief, Michele Sensi-Contugi; his wife, fashion designer Stephany Hollihan; and the pilot, Josh Outram.
The Coral Gables home belonged to Henry Parra, 55, and Adam Hlavaty, 42, who were among seven people killed in a helicopter crash on Aug. 19 in Kenya’s Samburu County. (Google Maps)
Parra, a former Navy aviation support technician, later co-founded and managed an aviation maintenance company. Hlavaty was a real estate executive and co-founder of a development company.
“They were a loving couple who cherished their time together, especially traveling, making memories, and enjoying life with their family and friends,” friends said in a statement obtained by WSVN. “They were hardworking, generous, and deeply committed to serving and giving back to their community.”
According to the affidavit, the couple left their South Florida home Aug. 12 and had arranged for their housekeeper to visit daily. Investigators determined that the home and its contents were intact after the couple died, police said.
Melany Perdomo, 24, is accused of ransacking a northwest Miami-Dade couple’s home days after they died in a Kenya helicopter crash. (Miami-Dade Corrections)
Between the afternoon of Aug. 20 and Aug. 22, someone entered the residence, ransacked it and took personal and business documents, jewelry, electronics and artwork, the affidavit says. Police also reported the theft of a 2023 Land Rover Range Rover and a 2020 Porsche Taycan.
Investigators used Apple’s Find My service to trace a stolen MacBook to a residence in northwest Miami-Dade, according to the complaint. Location information from a spare key and the Range Rover’s app also pointed to the same area, police said.
Officers found both vehicles parked near the residence, obtained a search warrant and found Garcia hiding in a second-floor closet, the affidavit says. Perdomo was found in another upstairs bedroom, police said.
The complaint alleges officers recovered documents belonging to the victims, a key fob for the Range Rover and several valuable artworks, including the sculpture. It also says officers found materials consistent with producing or altering fraudulent identification documents.
Garcia is charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, two counts of grand theft of a vehicle and first-degree grand theft.
Geybert Alexander Garcia, 40, is accused of ransacking a northwest Miami-Dade couple’s home days after they died in a Kenya helicopter crash. He is charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, two counts of grand theft of a vehicle and first-degree grand theft. (Miami Dade Corrections)
Perdomo is charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and two first-degree grand theft counts. Their arraignments are scheduled for Sept. 28.
News Media has requested additional information from ICE. An attorney for Garcia and Perdomo was not immediately available.