BAY HARBOR ISLAND, Fla. – Police said a woman hired to clean a 79-year-old’s home in Bay Harbor Islands helped herself to several pieces of the senior’s jewelry, pawning the items off for thousands of dollars.
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Authorities said Maria Esther Hernandez, 58, of Miami Beach, was arrested by Bay Harbor Islands police Tuesday after an investigation linked her to the theft.
According to police, a woman hired Hernandez through the Nextdoor app to clean her home on Feb. 6, agreeing to pay her $125 via Zelle.
They said the two women met at North Beach Physical Therapy in Miami Beach, where the victim was receiving treatment.
After the victim finished her therapy, police said she and Hernandez drove to her home near the 10100 block of West Bay Harbor Drive.
Once the cleaning was completed, investigators said Hernandez asked the victim to drop her off near 96th Street and West Bay Harbor Drive. However, when the victim returned home, she discovered several pieces of her jewelry were missing.
Police said the woman attempted to call Hernandez, but her calls went unanswered.
Days later, detectives reached out to Hernandez through text message and requested a call back.
On Feb. 15, police said Hernandez responded and admitted to cleaning the victim’s home but denied knowing anything about the missing jewelry.
An arrest report states that on Feb. 7, a day after the cleaning, Hernandez went to a pawn shop called Easy Cash on Normandy Drive in Miami Beach, where police said she sold three gold rings for $1,000.
The following day, Hernandez returned to the same shop and sold 12 more gold rings for $2,400, bringing the total amount she received to $3,400, the report stated.
Detectives later showed the 15 pawned rings to the victim and her daughter, who identified them as the stolen jewelry. Police said Hernandez also attempted to pawn a sterling silver ring, but the shop declined to purchase it.
Hernandez invoked her Miranda rights after being taken into custody on Tuesday, police said.
Jail records show she is facing one count of theft from an elderly person between $10,000 and $50,000.
As of Wednesday, Hernandez is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where her bond was listed as “to be set.”
