Serial golf course thief arrested for stealing gun and Rolex after 13 years in hiding

Golf’s popularity is on the rise, but so, it seems, is golf crime. Almost every week we read a whacky, wild or even violent headline about a golf course incident or an attack with one of the game’s various blunt objects. This, however, might be the craziest story yet.

According to NBC 6 South Florida, on May 30th at Miami Shores Country Club, Richard Do returned to his golf cart to find his backpack containing his $18,000 Rolex, firearm, cash and personal identification documents missing.

A few days later, Do received a call that his backpack had been found in a trash can. Nearby surveillance cameras picked up the man who had thrown the backpack away—54-year-old Ivan Urquiza. Using the footage and license plate readers, Miami Shores PD were able to locate and arrest Urquiza on multiple counts of grand theft and other charges.

But here’s where the story turns into ‘True Detective’ season 5.

Not only was Urquiza found in possession of Do’s stolen items, as well as those from a similar incident at Miami Shores C.C. on January 15th, he was also connected to a string of similar golf course robberies across multiple states … 13 years ago.

According to police, Urquiza—who went by the alias Philip Vincente and used the ritzy stolen goods to entrap young women on a website known as Sugardaddy.com—had been in hiding for well over a decade. He was known to frequent golf courses almost daily, traveling across the country to target affluent golfers.

“I’m so grateful he’s off the streets,” Do said after the ordeal. “I got a word for all the golfers out there, be careful, you never know who’s who.”