Authorities arrested a man and a woman allegedly linked to an armed robbery that took place in Hialeah on Sept. 16, Local 10 reported.
The suspects, identified as 55-year-old Lourdes Diaz and 24-year-old Julian Flores, were taken into custody on Tuesday, as per Local 10 News. They were arrested due to their alleged connection with the robbery, which targeted a victim outside of a beauty salon. During the incident, the mother and son allegedly stole jewelry worth $800,000.
The victim, who was leaving the beauty salon where she worked, was loading luggage containing valuable jewelry into her car when she was confronted by an armed man dressed in all-black attire with a face mask, the outlet noted.
The arrest report detailed that while inside the beauty salon, Flores allegedly aggressively attempted to wrestle the luggage from the victim’s grasp, and later allegedly pistol-whipped her, the outlet reported. Flores allegedly escalated the situation by firing a single shot causing the victim to release her grip on the luggage, as further reported by Local 10 News.
The suspect was seen loading the luggage into a white Chevy Equinox, according to video footage. Police said they were able to trace the car to Diaz, the outlet reported. Authorities recovered about 1,300 pieces of jewelry worth $800,000. (RELATED: Guest Who Rented An Apartment Through Online Room-Sharing Platform Robs Homeowner At Gunpoint, Police Say)
“The mother was befriending the victim, asking her questions, ‘how much jewelry do you carry? How much does this cost? Can I see? Would you bring it to me to see it,’” Hialeah Police Officer Scarlett Hernandez said, WSVN reported. “And then waiting for her for the perfect opportunity to be able to batter her, scare her to death and take the jewelry.”
The victim, Eunice Sanchez, was glad that the suspects were taken into custody.
“I am happy that they were arrested,” Sanchez told CBS News. “Police did their job and I hope this does not happen to anyone else. The woman came here to the salon and planned with her son to rob me. Her son assaulted me with a firearm. I was going to my car and he came close to me with a firearm because I would not give him my bag I was holding on to and he assaulted me.”
The mother and son are each facing one count of armed robbery with a deadly weapon, CBS reported.