Embattled Coconut Grove developer Doug Cox was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Sunday night on charges of trespassing and burglary.
Cox, 56, is facing a felony burglary charge and two misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and trespassing. The alleged crimes occurred at Alitza Weiss’ Coconut Grove home.
Years ago, Cox and Nicole Pearl, his partner at the time, were accused of crafting a scheme to sell homes and townhouses in Coconut Grove to multiple buyers, while lying to investors and lenders, lawsuits alleged at the time. In 2024, more than two dozen homebuyers who said they were conned by Cox agreed to quitclaim deeds, giving up their claims of ownership to homes they had made deposits on years earlier.
Cox’s arrest appears to be unrelated to the alleged fraud. His arrest report was not immediately available, but a stay away order for Weiss is listed on the court docket. Weiss and Cox have a history, court records show.
In late February, Weiss was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, after police said she threatened a person with a kitchen knife following a dispute inside her mother’s home, Coconut Grove Spotlight reported. According to the police report, Cox said that Weiss told him to leave the house after Weiss and her mother got into a verbal argument. The report states that Weiss pointed the knife at him and told him to, “Leave the house or I am going to fucking stab you.” That case was closed in April; no further action was taken by prosecutors.
Weiss did not respond to requests for comment. The Real Deal attempted to reach Cox through a phone number associated with him, but did not receive a response.
In 2020, Cox was arrested on felony domestic violence charges involving Pearl, court records show. He was also issued a stay away order in that case. Cox pleaded not guilty.
TRD has covered Weiss and her mother, the late Caroline Weiss, before. Caroline, who was CEO of Weiss Group of Companies, died in September at the age of 88. Many of her projects were clustered in Little Havana and the area near Miami International Airport. Weiss had two daughters, Alitza Weiss and Adeena Weiss Ortiz. Alitza became a senior executive at Weiss Group of Companies, while Adeena Weiss Ortiz was also involved in the family business and later became tied up in a legal dispute over ownership of a Blue Lagoon development site.
