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His rap sheet snares rapper
By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer For Javier Rodriguez, also known as the rapper Latino, the lure of fame was apparently greater than his desire to elude the law. Friday night, Rodriguez performed his new single Coming 2 America on a Miami TV station before a live studio audience. Scantily clad women swayed as they sang backup. Rodriguez wore a cream-colored guayabera shirt as a nod to his Cuban roots. Only one glitch: The aspiring rapper had been wanted by Tampa police for seven years. Undercover officers were in the audience. "He was a very good dancer," observed Special Agent Frank Molina of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "He has talent." Rodriguez, 29, was wanted on armed robbery and kidnapping charges stemming from a 1994 pawnshop robbery in Tampa. According to Tampa police, Rodriguez and another man stole $40 in cash and jewelry from Busch Pawn on N 40th Street. The robbers bound the clerk's hands and threatened to kill him, according to a police report. After the robbery, warrants were issued for Rodriguez's arrest, but police couldn't find him. Rodriguez has a lengthy criminal record from 1989 to 1994, with arrests on charges including possession of a short-barrel shotgun, trafficking in cocaine and grand larceny. Molina said Rodriguez has been living in Miami for at least two years. Recently, someone tipped Tampa agents to Rodriguez's Web site and his rapper alias. Agents in Miami found the Web site and read all about Latino's accomplishments. "Known throughout South Florida as the sharpest bilingual rapper around, LATINO brings more than versatility to the table," his Web site read. He has written more than 400 songs, performed on several TV stations and been a DJ in Miami nightclubs. Rodriguez mixes Spanish and English when he sings. His music is "entertaining, positive and fun," said the Web site, which has since been taken down. The Web site also had a list of upcoming concerts. Last Friday, according to the Web site, Rodriguez was scheduled to appear on El Mikimbin, a variety show on WJAN-Ch. 41 in Miami. But that wasn't the only Web site Rodriguez was featured on. He was also on the FDLE's Taking Hoodlums Using Guns Seriously site, or "T.H.U.G.S.", which details those suspected of using a gun in the commission of a violent crime. About 9 p.m. Friday, agents arrived at the WJAN studios and watched Rodriguez. When he walked outside, they arrested him and took him to the Miami-Dade County jailon outstanding probation warrants and armed robbery and kidnapping charges. While Agent Molina thought Rodriguez's music was pretty good, the TV show producers, who didn't know of his arrest until Tuesday, had a different take. "We just gave him a chance, basically because we didn't have anybody else that day," said Carla De Inocencio, producer for El Mikimbin. "He's definitely not the next Enrique Iglesias." -- Times Researcher John Martin contributed to this report.
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