Florida mother and son plead guilty in brazen $750K jewelry heist

A South Florida mother and her lad person pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an equipped robbery of $750,000 worthy of golden jewelry conscionable implicit a twelvemonth ago, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Lourdes Diaz, 56, and her lad Julian Flores, 25, some of Naples, Fla., were arrested successful aboriginal October 2023, astir 2 weeks aft the brazen, wide daylight heist.

The owner of a salon that besides sells jewelry successful Hialeah was loading a suitcase containing a ample magnitude of golden jewelry into a parked conveyance successful mid-September of past twelvemonth erstwhile Diaz backed up a rented SUV from a adjacent parking spot.

Flores past hopped retired of the backmost spot — brandishing a weapon and wearing a skis disguise — and attempted to drawback the suitcase from the owner.

When the pistillate unfortunate attempted to defy the robbery, Flores struck her assemblage “multiple times” with the revolver, prosecutors said.

The conflict went connected until Flores fired his revolver astatine the crushed and was capable to snatch the suitcase from the woman. He past hopped backmost into the SUV and Diaz drove distant from the scene.

The onslaught was caught connected camera and constabulary arrested Diaz connected Oct. 2, 2023. He was wearing immoderate of the stolen jewelry erstwhile constabulary took him into custody, officials said.

After Diaz’s arrest, his parent hid the remainder of the jewelry successful the location of 1 of Diaz’s adjacent associates. She was arrested the pursuing time adjacent that residence, and a consequent hunt warrant recovered the remainder of the stolen golden jewelry.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian accepted Diaz’s blameworthy plea to Hobbs Act robbery and related charges. Flores entered his blameworthy plea to the aforesaid charges connected Tuesday.

They each look a maximum word of beingness successful prison. Their sentencing hearings person yet to beryllium scheduled.