MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A landlord appeared in court, Thursday, after she was accused of robbing a tenant in Miami Beach.
Resident Claudina Pimentel said she can’t return to her apartment on Sixth Street and Jefferson Avenue after police arrested her landlord, Valentine Zaeta, for looting the home, Dec. 18.
Pimentel said she and her roommates had lived in the apartment for six months before they realized Zaeta did not actually own the residence.
“Extremely violated. Violated, furious. Who’s to say she’s not going to come back? Who’s to say she’s not going to have someone come try and hurt me now?” she said.
According to police, security cameras caught Zaeta and another woman using her key to enter the apartment. Police said the duo was seen minutes later taking thousands of dollars worth of items from the home.
“Laptop is gone, my luggage is gone, my wallet, my birth certificate, all of my personal information,” said Pimentel.
She was at work when she got a call from her roommate, who was home at the time.
“They’re like, ‘Did you just leave the house?’ and I was like, ‘No, I haven’t been there.’ They were like, ‘Somebody just left the house,'” she said.
The ordeal didn’t end there. Pimentel said Zaeta demanded cash to get her belongings back. “She sent someone to try to muscle me and extort me,” she said.
Luckily, a nearby business had footage of the theft and police were able to make an arrest.
“When I saw it on camera, I was just like, ‘What are you guys thinking?'” said neighbor Shane Molinaro.
Miami-Dade District Court Judge Victoria S. Sigler did not hold back when the suspect appeared in court.
“It looks like you’re charged with burglary of somebody’s apartment and grand theft,” said Sigler. “They actually got you on videotape doing it – surprise, surprise.”
Meanwhile, Pimentel said she is looking for another place to live.
She is not sure if she will get her belongings back, but Pimentel has warned other renters to beware and double check everything before signing on the dotted line.
“I don’t want that to happen to anyone else, ever, especially from her,” she said.
Zaeta remains behind bars on a $35,000 bond. She is scheduled to return to court next week.
Pimentel said she’s hoping the legal system will take care of Zaeta. “You’ve got to go by the laws. It applies to everyone,” she said. “That’s it. You steal, you go to jail.”
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