In August 2014, Proper Protection's Founder, Investigator Luis Linares, was tasked to surveil the owner of a suspicious utility vehicle, possibly involved in stealing copper cable from underground power lines.
After following an FPL contractor suspected in the thefts for several days, Investigator Linares obtained the now famous surveillance video of a red Ford F-250 pulling copper cable from the ground.
After the theft, and loaded with stolen copper wire, the subject drove his vehicle to a Miami Lakes warehouse where a wire stripping operation was underway and unloaded the stolen wire. To be valuable, the rubber casing must be stripped before the raw copper can be sold to scrap yards.
Subsequently, Linares discovered that the thieves had hidden a fleet of "ghost vehicles", surplus utility vehicles purchased at county auctions, and dressed them to resemble legitimate utility vehicles.
The evidence obtained that night sparked "Operation Copper Mine". A massive 18-month surveillance investigation into an organized crime ring we dubbed "The Copper Cowboys", an homage to Billy Corban's docuseries "Cocaine Cowboys"
Investigator Linares led the private surveillance team tasked with identifying those involved and documenting their crimes in real-time.
Over a 16-month period, over 30 hours of surveillance footage was obtained which documented the crew conspiring and committing multiple felonies, which ultimately led to 35 RICO counts against the 17 defendants.
In early November of 2015, arrest warrants were served simultaneously on the majority of the defendants, but one attempted to flee and briefly escaped law enforcement.
Investigator Linares used his intimate knowledge of the subject's habits, movements, and associations, and after an exhaustive search throughout Dade County, located the subject at a Hialeah motel.
Linares notified FDLE of the subject's location so that the warrant could be executed and the private surveillance team secured the perimeter until police could arrive.
After several tense hours, FDLE and Hialeah Police arrived and took the defendant into custody without further incident.
On April 2, 2021, Anthony Mejias went missing in Orlando, FL after boarding a bus from college to visit his mother in South-Florida. Anthony's bus made a scheduled stop in Orlando where he mistakenly disembarked.
However, there was some confusion with the driver that ended with Anthony being turned away from re-boarding the bus and forced to leave the terminal on foot, without the majority of his belongings, including his phone and skateboard.
When Anthony did not arrive in Miami on schedule, his mother began to worry and filed a missing person's report. The following day, Anthony had not arrived and was now missing for over twenty-four hours. Preliminary investigations revealed that Anthony left the bus stop on foot shortly after midnight carrying his duffle bag and has not been seen since.
Investigator Linares was contacted by the family's legal representative and immediately organized a search for Anthony. Within minutes of initiating the investigation at the bus terminal Linares discovered crucial information the police missed and recovered Anthony's cell phone, backpack and skateboard.
For three days, Linares, Anthony's family and friends, and multiple volunteers searched the area without success. Posters, flyers, and social media posts were created, and calls were coming in with leads.
Unfortunately, as is all too common in these scenarios, scammers and opportunists were spinning wild tales that Anthony was kidnapped and to send money, people were claiming to see him at public places and theme parks, which clouded the search and affected the family greatly.
Sadly, Anthony was found.
Anthony had been admitted to the hospital the very night he went missing and was listed as a John Doe until he died days later.
But why? What happened to this vibrant young man?
His mother and the search team had scoured the area hospitals including the one in question, yet the hospitals all claimed that he was not there and that no one matching his photos had been admitted.
The whole time Anthony was in ICU, his mother was downstairs in the lobby begging the hospital to help, to look harder, and they eventually threw her out.
Once we knew of Anthony's fate, the real investigation began. Who, what, when, where, how, and why.
Police revealed that Anthony was found unresponsive in the street on Orange Avenue, likely struck by a vehicle, and was transported to the hospital where he later died.
6 days after Anthony's disappearance, no meaningful law enforcement investigation was being conducted, and they had no suspects.
Investigator Linares canvassed the scene and located Anthony's shoes that were left behind in the gutter by police along with remnants of his clothing. The items were immediately secured and delivered to FHP for forensic testing.
During the canvass, Investigator Linares recovered CCTV from multiple local business that showed Anthony walking down the road and in the middle of the street. 5 cameras along Orange Ave. painted a picture of what happened that night.
While walking or possibly crossing the street Anthony was the victim of a hit and run driver, and it was all captured on that video. Linares immediately delivered the video evidence to FHP who analyzed the video but were unable to identify the vehicle or driver.
As of 2025, Anthony's killer has not been found. Please watch the news story, and if you have any information, please contact Proper Protection or the Florida Highway Patrol.
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