A masked Chilean migrant, Mario Bustamante-Leiva, 49, was arrested for stealing a Gucci bag containing $3,000 in cash from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during an Easter outing at Capital Burger in Washington, DC, law enforcement sources told The New York Post. Bustamante-Leiva, previously busted for a similar crime in London, is illegally in the US and allegedly part of a large East Coast robbery network. A second suspect, also an illegal migrant, was arrested in Miami and is being held on a deportation notice while charges are finalised. Sources said the two are believed to have collaborated on similar robberies nationwide.
"Thank you to @SecretService @ICEgov and our law enforcement partners for finding and arresting the criminal who stole my bag on Easter Sunday as I shared a meal with my family at a Washington, DC restaurant. This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years. Unfortunately, so many families in this country have been made victims by crime, and that's why President Trump is working every single day to make America safe and get these criminal aliens off of our streets," Ms Noem wrote on X.
US Attorney Ed Martin stated that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was likely not targeted due to her position, but rather for her expensive Gucci bag, which held $3,000 in cash, her driver's license, passport, DHS badge, and apartment keys.
Security footage showed the suspect, wearing an N95 mask, dark pants, a "fur-type" collar, and a ball cap, stealing the bag from Capital Burger in Washington, DC, about a mile from the White House, known for its $23 signature burger.
Bustamante-Leiva, 49, was previously arrested in 2015 for a five-month robbery spree in London, stealing nearly 28,000 pounds worth of phones, wallets, and computers, per a 2015 Daily Mail report. Mr Martin emphasised that Bustamante-Leiva and his accomplice, now under US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's custody, will be permanently barred from re-entering the country.
"President Trump's direction to us is we charge these folks that are here illegally and we prosecute them, as well as deport them when need be, you know, as soon as that can happen. I can tell you he won't be back on the streets of America," he told NBC.
