The suspect accused of stealing a dear purse from Division of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem in Washington, D.C., was additionally arrested for the same theft in New York Metropolis earlier within the yr, in accordance with regulation enforcement sources.
Mario Bustamante Leiva was arrested in NYC on March 2 after a person reported to NYPD that his bag — together with his pockets inside — had been stolen from underneath the desk the place he was eating at a restaurant in Instances Sq., sources instructed NBC New York.
Whereas the sufferer was reviewing surveillance video of the theft, patrons noticed the alleged thief standing close to a subway station at West 42 Avenue and Sixth Avenue, regulation enforcement sources stated. They alerted the sufferer, who then alerted NYPD and made an arrest.
The sufferer stated within the quick timeframe of the theft and arrest, which was lower than half-hour, the alleged thief charged $1,200 on two of his bank cards. Due to the massive quantity, the sufferer stated he pressed expenses.
Since getting his bag swiped on March 2, the sufferer stated he is gotten only one cellphone name relating to his stolen objects. He added that he has no concept on the standing of the case or the suspect. He solely discovered on Monday that the suspect was the identical man arrested in reference to the theft of Noem’s Gucci bag.
Bustamante Leiva, a 49-year-old Chilean nationwide who was within the U.S. illegally, was charged with grand larceny and obtained a desk look ticket, in accordance with regulation enforcement sources. Nevertheless, he failed to point out up for his first courtroom look in Manhattan.
Regulation enforcement authorities on Sunday arrested a second particular person in South Florida related to the theft of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse, in accordance with two sources accustomed to the state of affairs.
The second suspect, in accordance with U.S. Lawyer for the District of Columbia Ed Martin, can also be within the nation illegally. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was stated to now be concerned within the case.
It’s not believed Bustamante Leiva focused Noem as a result of she was the Division of Homeland Safety chief, stated U.S. Lawyer for the District of Columbia Ed Martin.
Noem’s purse contained $3,000 money, in addition to her DHS entry badge, her passport, numerous bank cards, clean checks, a set of keys and her driver’s license.
Noem’s purse was stolen when a masked man walked into Capital Burger, a restaurant in D.C., final Sunday evening. The person handed two plainclothes Secret Service officers who have been sitting on the bar on his technique to her desk, which was upstairs.
He then sat down subsequent to Noem’s desk, the place she was consuming together with her household, and put his foot on her purse to pull it towards himself, in accordance with two sources acquainted who considered the surveillance footage. Then, he swiftly picked it up, tucked it underneath his jacket and walked out, passing the safety brokers on his approach out.