BAY HARBOR ISLANDS, Fla. (WSVN) – Authorities in New York City arrested two men more than two weeks after they allegedly broke into a Bay Harbor Islands home and stole nearly $80,000 worth of jewelry.
Cellphone video shows one of the suspects, identified as Jorge Tobar, being taken into custody at LaGuardia Airport, Saturday night.
Investigators said Tobar, a Chilean national, was trying to flee to Toronto, Canada.
Bay Harbor Islands Police Chief Sean Hemingway said authorities got there just in time.
“This case, like any other case, is huge,” he said. “My commitment to my residents is, we’re going to prevent crime, but in the very rare instance that we do not, we’re going to put our resources in recovering property and arresting and apprehending suspects.”
Hemingway said Tobar was ready to leave the country with part of the haul taken from the Bay Harbor Islands home over Labor Day weekend.
After Tobar was arrested, Hemingway said, detectives went to the hotel where a second suspect was staying.
“Once we made the arrest at LaGuardia, my detectives, along with NYPD, Port Authority Police and ICE agents, we immediately had our detectives go back to the hotel,” he said. “The thought was that the suspect who is now in custody would no longer be in contact with the other suspect, causing alarm for that suspect to flee also.”
Hemingway said the second suspect, identified as Rodrigo Astete, did exactly as expected.
“Within a short amount of time, suspect two exits the hotel and briskly tries to escape, causing our detectives and NYPD to give a short chase,” he said.
Surveillance video shows Tobar, Astete and a third suspect entering the victim’s multimillion-dollar home, Sept. 2. An exterior security camera captured one of the burglars walking out of the residence while carrying a drawer filled with jewelry.
The homeowner, who asked not to be identified or show his face on camera, said his wife’s wedding ring was among the items stolen.
“I can tell you there’s some diamonds, there’s some watches, one of which has already been identified by our victim,” said Hemingway. “From the confession of the one suspect, it looks like there were some burglaries, possibly in Broward County, as well.”
Cellphone video shows police walking a handcuffed Astete into NYPD Headquarters.
“Just like the bracelets they stole, now they’re coming back here on our bracelets,” said Hemingway.
Police are still searching for the third suspect.
Photographs of some of the stolen jewelry conveys the scale of this bust by Bay Harbor Islands Police, an agency comprised of 24 officers.
“I think the message is clear already. We’re batting a thousand,” said Hemingway. “If you come here, [with] our technology, our determination, we’re going to hunt you down, and we’re going to catch you.”
The homeowner said he is relieved and grateful.
“It’s great to know that we have a great department, from the chief all the way down, that really does care,” he said.
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