Florida woman arrested for string of ‘bad date’ thefts: Cops
Angelina Chenel Esty (Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation).
A Florida woman was recently arrested for stealing men”s luxury watches in a familiar drugging and burglary scheme, police say.
And, authorities say this is not her first time.
Angelina Chenel Esty, 25, stands accused of one count each of burglary of an occupied dwelling and grand theft between $20,000-$100,000, according to the Miami Police Department.
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The underlying incident allegedly occurred on Aug. 9, at an apartment on Brickell Bay Drive, police say.
Sometime later, a man woke up and reported his $20,000 Rolex had been stolen along with $4,000 in cash and his friend’s $1,000 replica Rolex, according to an arrest report obtained by Miami-based Fox and ABC affiliate WSVN and local independent TV station WPLG.
The man told investigators he and his friend met Esty and another woman at the Blackbird Ordinary bar – a short walk away from the apartment in question – and then left during the early morning hours.
Law enforcement say surveillance footage from the bar showed Esty and the person identified as her accomplice there that night. Later, the man picked the defendant out of a photo array, police said.
Investigators say the victim’s friend also suffered an “unauthorized $500 Cash App transaction,” according to the arrest report.
The victim, for his part, described a limited recollection of the evening and surmised he had been drugged, police said.
Esty is described as a “known offender with prior arrests for similar bad date thefts,” by detectives in the report.
In May, the defendant turned herself in to police in Doral – a medium-sized city in the Miami metro area – over similar allegations.
In three separate incidents dating back to March, Esty was identified as the suspect, according to WSVN.
In the first incident, a man described meeting the defendant at E11EVEN nightclub in Miami on March 10, bringing her back to his apartment, becoming sick after one drink, and then passing out, police say. When he woke up, he allegedly found the woman and his Rolex gone.
In the second incident, a man told police he met two women at Blackbird Ordinary on March 22, inviting them back to his apartment, drinking until they fell asleep, and waking up to find the women, an $11,000 Rolex, $8,000 in cash, and a pair of sunglasses missing – but an addition as well. A purse left behind allegedly contained the defendant’s identification.
In the third incident, a man reported meeting Esty at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach on April 21, taking her back to his hotel room, drinking one drink she served him, passing out, and waking up to find that the woman, a $20,000 Rolex watch, and a $10,000 diamond bracelet had all disappeared, according to law enforcement.
Esty is currently detained in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $5,000 bond – after being granted bond on Friday.
The defendant is next slated to appear in court for her arraignment on Oct. 24.
