Fox News Flash top headlines for March 22
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Two North Carolina men in Miami over spring break were arrested for allegedly drugging and raping a 24-year-old woman who was found dead in her hotel room, authorities said Monday.
Evoire Collier, 21, and Dorian Taylor, 24, are also accused of stealing the unconscious woman’s credit cards and using them during their South Beach vacation, The Miami Herald reported.
Both men were caught on surveillance footage entering the Albion Hotel with the impaired victim, a Pennsylvania resident, at around 1 a.m. on Thursday, police said.
MIAMI BEACH POLICE SEIZE AT LEAST EIGHT FIREARMS DURING ROWDY WEEKEND
"[Taylor] was holding her from behind, holding her by the neck so she could stand," Miami Beach Detective Luis Alsina testified during a bond hearing Monday, according to the Herald.
Police said each of the men had sex with the victim at the hotel and, at one point, Taylor allegedly forced himself on her as she appeared to be unconscious.
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"The fact that the victim was under the influence of alcohol and narcotics, she could not have consented to sex with the defendants," the police report states.
While their victim was passed out, the men snatched her credit cards, phone and cash and left her in the room "without any concern for her welfare or safety," the report alleges.
First responders discovered the woman "semi nude" and dead in the room’s bed later Thursday.
Cops were able to track down Collier — who fit the description of one of the men in the surveillance footage — on Saturday in an area that’s recently been packed with partying spring breakers.
He allegedly confessed that he and his pal had met the woman at a local restaurant and that Taylor gave her a "green pill," the police report said.
Collier told police he believed the drug was Percocet, a powerful pain reliever, Alsina testified in court.
He allegedly said "that he went along with [Taylor] as they planned to have sex with the victim," the report said.
Both men, who are from Greensboro, were booked into a Miami-Dade jail on Sunday.
Charges against them include burglary with battery, sexual battery, petty theft and the fraudulent use of a credit card.
Investigators are still trying to determine the victim’s cause of death and whether it was due to an overdose from the pill supplied by the men. If that’s the case, the two could also potentially face manslaughter or murder charges, the Herald reported.
Their arrests come as local authorities grapple with crowds of unruly spring breakers who have flocked to the party city, recently even instituting an 8 p.m. curfew to crack down on the rowdy reveling.
Miami Beach police have made over 1,000 arrests since February and at least five officers have been hurt on the job, the Herald reported.
In court Monday, prosecutor Ayana Harris argued Collier and Taylor should be held in jail pending trial, noting they could face more serious charges and are possible flight risks as "both are from out of state."
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer agreed and expressed alarm about the allegations.
"He couldn’t even pick up the phone to call police or 911 after they did whatever it is they did to her," Glazer said.
Both Collier and Taylor have been appointed public defenders and are set to be arraigned in about three weeks.
