NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - It was a frightening ordeal for an elderly North Miami woman when, she said, a crook broke into her home, robbed her and kissed her on the cheek before taking off.
Eighty-nine-year-old Victoria Ohanjanian said she came face-to-face with the brazen crook after he opened her unlocked door around lunchtime on Sunday.
After he ripped her off, the victim said, things got weird.
“He kissed me, and he get out,” she said.
But Ohanjanian said the perpetrator was hardly affectionate prior to his peck on the cheek. At one point, she said, the home invader pulled out a knife.
“[He said], ‘Be quiet. I just want money,'” she said.
Ohanjanian said the robber took about $300 out of a pair of pants, as well as credit and debit cards. He also took her iPhone.
Newly released surveillance video shows a man walking in the neighborhood of the home before stopping at Ohanjanian’s house and making his way inside.
Shortly after he could be seen running away from the home.
But the smooching bandit did not get far before police caught up to him.
Officials identified the criminal as 24-year-old Johnson Joseph.
Victoria Ohanjanian is 89 and says she was kissed on the cheek by a robber during a home invasion Sunday. The crook took $300 cash, an iPhone, debit and debit cards but was caught after trying to buy sneakers at Foot Action according to police. @wsvn #Exclusive @NorthMiamiPD pic.twitter.com/IN2dASAaQl
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) April 16, 2019
The suspect appeared in bond court on Monday.
Prosecutors said Ohanjanian’s son was home at the time, but he was outside in the yard and didn’t hear what was going on.
“The defendant ransacked the victim’s dresser drawer,” said the prosecutor. “The victim attempted to call her son for help … The defendant then grabbed the victim’s iPhone and kissed her on the cheek and fled.”
“I’d much rather he kissed her than anything else,” said Ohanjanian’s son.
But police said Joseph did plenty. He was charged with home invasion robbery, grand theft while armed, theft from the elderly and fraudulent use of credit cards.
Investigators said Joseph tried to buy sneakers at the 163rd Street Mall in North Miami Beach and was eventually apprehended nearby.
Ohanjanian’s son said he tracked his mother’s iPhone with the Find My iPhone app, which detectives found useful.
“If I hadn’t activated that, they wouldn’t have nabbed him,” he said.
Going forward, Ohanjanian’s son said he will be making sure no one else walks into his mother’s home.
“I’ve decided to keep the door locked,” he said.
As for Joseph, it appears he might soon be kissing his freedom goodbye.
Police said the suspect attempted to break into another home but was likely scared off by the dogs in that house. He remains at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.