Police: Suspended Hurricanes guard stole $6K in property

MIAMI -- Suspended Miami Hurricanes guard Eddie Rios helped steal more than $6,000 in property from other students in at least two separate robberies on the Coral Gables campus, according to a police report released Friday.

Rios helped steal four laptops, two Xbox 360 game consoles and a credit card among other items, the report said. He was arrested and booked Wednesday on two counts of burglarizing an unoccupied dwelling, and two counts of grand theft.

It could not be immediately determined if he had an attorney. A message left Thursday with team spokeswoman Margaret Belch was not immediately returned.

Rios was suspended by the Hurricanes on Jan. 12 for "violating team rules relating to following team protocol and lack of communication with coaches." That suspension was not related to the charges.

It has been a tumultuous season for Rios, who was also suspended briefly in December, then reinstated after two days.

The sophomore was one of the most coveted South Florida recruits in years, and came to Miami trying to jump-start a program that plays in the shadows of the area's professional teams and Hurricanes football. Rios averaged 4.7 points and 12.3 minutes, starting four games this year for Miami. He was released Wednesday on a $17,500 bond.

Miami coach Frank Haith said Thursday he's had no contact with Rios and the player's status is unchanged.

Rios entered student dormitories on two separate occasions, swiping electronics and other items in grab-and-go type robberies, according to the report.

Police responded to a burglary call at the University of Miami's Mahoney Residential building Tuesday night and spotted Rios getting into a car, the report said. Rios and the driver, Stephanie Elizabeth Flores, 19, were pulled over and found with a Dell laptop computer that did not belong to either of them.

Rios, who lives in the dormitory, later confessed that he was involved in other burglaries on campus, including at least one on his own floor, police said. Rios also was found with a concealed weapons license that was not his. Flores had a credit card and a driver's license that were not hers.

Rios implicated another person, 20-year-old Miami-Dade College student Juan Manuel Rico, in the robberies, police said. An attorney for Rico and Flores could not be found.

The items were returned to their owners.