Bad date? Broward woman jailed for $30K jewelry heist at Miami Beach hotel: cops
A Pompano Beach woman is behind bars in connection with the theft of a Rolex watch and a diamond bracelet worth a combined $30,000 after cops say a man reported waking up to find his jewelry missing following a night out in Miami Beach.
According to Miami Beach police, the incident occurred April 21 at the Fontainebleau Hotel.
The victim told officers he returned to his hotel around 4:30 a.m. after a night out and met an unknown woman in the lobby. The two began talking, and she accompanied him back to his room.
Once inside, the woman — later identified as Angelina Chenel Esty, 25 — served him drinks, according to her arrest affidavit. The man said he took off his Rolex Datejust and diamond bracelet, placing them in his jacket pocket. After consuming the drinks, he passed out.
He awoke around 8 a.m. to find Esty gone — along with the watch and bracelet, valued at $20,000 and $10,000.
Police reviewed security footage and found fingerprints linking Esty to the hotel room.
The victim later confirmed her identity in a photo lineup.
A warrant was issued, and Esty was arrested on Monday by Doral Police for a separate grand theft case involving another stolen Rolex watch. She's also a suspect in a similar ongoing investigation by Miami Police.
Esty's arrest is similar to a broader pattern of so-called 'bad date' scams — cases in which women allegedly target men wearing expensive jewelry, gain their trust, and then drug and rob them in private settings.
Earlier this month, another woman, Rachel Marie Warner, 23, of Las Vegas, was arrested in a nearly identical case.
READ MORE: Las Vegas woman arrested in Miami after robbing man of $18K Rolex, cops say
On April 8, a man met Warner outside the East Hotel in Brickell and invited her to join him for drinks at the rooftop bar Sugar. They later returned to his hotel unit, where Warner reportedly made him a drink. After consuming it, he blacked out and woke up to find his $18,000 Rolex missing, and his phone tampered with.
Security footage showed Warner leaving the hotel alone around 3:30 a.m. Detectives tracked her down weeks later and found two bottles containing a suspicious white liquid in her purse.
Warner was hit with multiple charges, including burglary, grand theft and possession of a controlled substance.
Esty is charged with second degree grand theft. Jail records show she remains at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Tuesday afternoon on a $7500 bond.
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