MIAMI (WSVN) - A 57-year-old man has been arrested after police said he was stalking a Miami family for months.
Carlos Nieto stood before a judge Tuesday after he was arrested on Monday.
“You’ve been charged with four counts of aggravated stalking,” said Judge Renatha S. Francis.
According to the family, the stalking started back in September when Nieto reportedly approached them and asked if they wanted to sell their house.
The family said no and moved on.
But come Monday, the mother spotted Nieto again, and this time she claimed he was following her to her children’s school while in his car.
“He lowers his window and said to her, ‘Christmas is coming, and I know things are hard, so let me come straight. I will give you $200 to $300 for an hour,'” an attorney said during his court appearance. “The victim was like, ‘I’m not that kind of woman,’ and kept moving.”
Nieto’s wife, Joana Nieto, is now coming to his defense.
“It is a mistake, and we will clear all of this up,” she said. “He wasn’t following anybody. He went to do an oil change to my car and he was on his way back to the house.”
But the police report tells another story.
The document states, “Once the victim picked up her kids, she noticed Nieto was still following them near Northeast Second Avenue and 59th Street, and that’s when one of her daughters recognized him and said, ‘Mommy, this is the same man who was following us from school last week Wednesday.'”
The police report then claims Nieto said, “Come here girls, get in the car. I can make your Christmas really happy.”
The family eventually ran into a Family Dollar store and contacted the police, who apprehended Nieto.
“All three victims were able to positively identify Mr. Nieto as the man that was following them between home and school on various occasions,” said Miami Police Officer Kenia Fallat.
Nieto is now behind bars.
Judge Francis decided to keep him off the streets for the time being.
“I’m very concerned over the safety of these victims,” she said during his bond court appearance. “I’m going to do house arrest plus the bond.”
Nieto’s wife she expects him to be home Wednesday.
Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.