MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Miami man was arrested Monday after he tried to sell an expensive custom ring that had been stolen from the hotel room of New York City jeweler Eric Mavashev, also known as “Eric The Jeweler.”
Authorities said the victim was staying at the Mondrian South Beach Hotel during Super Bowl weekend. His hotel room was broken into on the day of the big game.
According to an arrest report, a safe containing between $1.3 million and $1.7 million in jewelry was stolen from inside the room. A large amount of cash was also taken, police said.
Authorities said an anonymous source contacted detectives Monday and said a man, identified as Xandi Garcia, 30, who police say is a known burglar who targets high-end jewelry, was trying to sell jewelry at the Seybold building and admitted that it had been stolen.
According to his arrest report, Garcia met up with the tipster and tried to sell him a custom ring that had a large clear stone and was adorned with multiple smaller clear stones.
Police said the tipster told Garcia that he wasn’t interested in buying the ring and that it had possibly been stolen during a home invasion.
Garcia told the tipster it had actually been stolen from a vehicle, authorities said.
The tipster again told Garcia he wasn’t interested and Garcia left the man’s business, at which time he was detained by police.
Police said the victim identified the custom ring as one of his pieces of jewelry that had been stolen from the hotel room.
Garcia faces charges of burglary, grand theft and dealing in stolen property.
He is currently on probation until 2022 for a separate case in Miami-Dade County.
It’s unclear whether any of the other jewelry pieces or cash were recovered.