Latest news with #CapitalBurger
NDTV
29-04-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Illegal Immigrant Arrested For Stealing US Homeland Secretary's Gucci Purse. Who Is He?
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. 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… — Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) April 27, 2025 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.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prosecutors file federal charges against suspect in Noem purse theft
Prosecutors filed federal robbery and wire fraud charges Monday against the man accused of stealing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse at a restaurant in downtown Washington, D.C. Mario Bustamante Leiva, a 49-year-old Chilean national, was also charged with aggravated identity theft. Authorities say he admitted to stealing Noem's purse upon his arrest Saturday. The charging documents provide the most detailed account yet of the incident and two other robberies in the days beforehand, which prosecutors say the man also committed. Bustamante Leiva was seen on Capital Burger cameras sitting down at a table within arm's reach of Noem shortly before 8 p.m. on Easter, according to the criminal complaint. Noem is not identified by name and is referred to as 'Victim-3.' After sitting down, Bustamante Leiva allegedly pushed his chair back toward the secretary to discreetly swipe her purse, which she had placed at her feet. 'In the context of this investigation, investigators believe this action was deliberate and done in an effort to get closer to Victim-3's belongings,' the complaint states. 'The suspect then looked downward (likely in the direction of Victim-3's purse) and then at a child milling around nearby.' Next, authorities say Bustamante Leiva 'twisted his body to his left,' moved the purse toward him and bent down to pick it up. He then got up and left the restaurant, the footage shows. After leaving, the charging documents indicate Bustamante Leiva took a bus from Chinatown to Georgetown, where he proceeded to spend about $200 using Noem's credit cards at Angolo Ristorante Italiano. Bustamante Leiva allegedly remained at the bar until roughly midnight, when he exited and fell asleep for about seven hours at an outdoor table. The Secret Service arrested Bustamante Leiva on Saturday after a multiday search. Court documents show authorities located the man by tracking purchases on a gift card he allegedly bought using another victim's stolen credit card. Upon being arrested Saturday, Bustamante Leiva purportedly told authorities he was an alcoholic with memory issues but recalled and admitted to stealing Noem's purse. He indicated he had no prior knowledge about who she was, according to the complaint. The man also acknowledged that he was arrested in London in 2014 for stealing designer bags and purses, the documents show. Bustamante Leiva could not be reached for comment, and he does not yet have an attorney listed on the case docket. Noem, in a post Sunday on social platform X, thanked authorities for finding and arresting the man who stole her bag. She described Bustamante Leiva as 'a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.' Police have also arrested a second suspect who is an alleged co-conspirator, but prosecutors have not yet filed federal charges against the individual. The new charging documents do not name the second suspect but allege the person was involved in one of the other robberies days earlier. The documents indicate Bustamante Leiva told authorities he met the individual days earlier and they stayed in motel rooms together to save money. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Suspect in Noem purse snatching tells authorities he didn't recognize her
A complaint filed on Monday reveals more details about the suspects accused of snatching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse from a restaurant in Washington, D.C. last weekend. Authorities arrested two suspects in connection to the theft of Noem's purse on Easter Sunday at the Capital Burger — reportedly containing roughly $3,000 in cash along with her driver's license, passport, keys and Homeland Security badge. Noem had planned to use the cash to pay for her family's dinner and other Easter activities. The United States Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department arrested the primary suspect, 49-year-old Mario Bustamante Leiva, a Chilean national, in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, according to the complaint. The Secret Service called the individual a 'serial offender' in a statement released about the arrests on Sunday. The complaint outlines federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and robbery against Bustamante Leiva in connection with Noem's theft along with two other incidents that took place between April 12 and April 20. Bustamante Leiva's attorney could not be reached for comment about the charges. Interim District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, during a Saturday appearance on NBC News, said Bustamante Leiva was in the country illegally. POLITICO could not independently confirm Bustamante Leiva's immigration status. Noem thanked law enforcement for making the arrest on Sunday, linking the theft to her efforts to carry out President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown. 'This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years,' Noem wrote in a post to X. ' 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.' According to the complaint, Bustamante Leiva admitted to stealing Noem's purse and denied recognizing Noem when shown a photo of her by law enforcement. Bustamante Leiva said he used his feet to slide out Noem's purse from underneath the chair she was sitting at before fleeing the restaurant with the bag, according to the complaint. He had told authorities that he still had the purse and that it was inside a motel room purchased using stolen credit cards. Bustamante Leiva also made claims of being an alcoholic and having memory issues. Bustamante Leiva made $205.87 in fraudulent purchases using Noem's stolen credit cards, according to the filing. The USSS statement from Sunday also announced a second arrest in Miami in connection with the theft. The agency said the second suspect — whose name hasn't been released — 'is believed to be a co-conspirator with the primary defendant.' Bustamante Leiva said, according to the complaint, that he had only known the individual for a few days before the robberies. Noem's theft comes as the Trump administration rapidly intensifies its deportation efforts — targeting international students and green card holders involved in last year's pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
Politico
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Suspect in Noem purse snatching tells authorities he didn't recognize her
A complaint filed on Monday reveals more details about the suspects accused of snatching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse from a restaurant in Washington, D.C. last weekend. Authorities arrested two suspects in connection to the theft of Noem's purse on Easter Sunday at the Capital Burger — reportedly containing roughly $3,000 in cash along with her driver's license, passport, keys and Homeland Security badge. Noem had planned to use the cash to pay for her family's dinner and other Easter activities. The United States Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department arrested the primary suspect, 49-year-old Mario Bustamante Leiva, a Chilean national, in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, according to the complaint . The Secret Service called the individual a 'serial offender' in a statement released about the arrests on Sunday. The complaint outlines federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and robbery against Bustamante Leiva in connection with Noem's theft along with two other incidents that took place between April 12 and April 20. Bustamante Leiva's attorney could not be reached for comment about the charges. Interim District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, during a Saturday appearance on NBC News, said Bustamante Leiva was in the country illegally. POLITICO could not independently confirm Bustamante Leiva's immigration status. Noem thanked law enforcement for making the arrest on Sunday, linking the theft to her efforts to carry out President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown. 'This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years,' Noem wrote in a post to X . ' 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.' According to the complaint, Bustamante Leiva admitted to stealing Noem's purse and denied recognizing Noem when shown a photo of her by law enforcement. Bustamante Leiva said he used his feet to slide out Noem's purse from underneath the chair she was sitting at before fleeing the restaurant with the bag, according to the complaint. He had told authorities that he still had the purse and that it was inside a motel room purchased using stolen credit cards. Bustamante Leiva also made claims of being an alcoholic and having memory issues. Bustamante Leiva made $205.87 in fraudulent purchases using Noem's stolen credit cards, according to the filing. The USSS statement from Sunday also announced a second arrest in Miami in connection with the theft. The agency said the second suspect — whose name hasn't been released — 'is believed to be a co-conspirator with the primary defendant.' Bustamante Leiva said, according to the complaint, that he had only known the individual for a few days before the robberies. Noem's theft comes as the Trump administration rapidly intensifies its deportation efforts — targeting international students and green card holders involved in last year's pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
CNBC
28-04-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
Man accused of stealing from Homeland Sec. Noem hit with federal charges in three robberies
A man accused of stealing the purse of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a restaurant while she was under Secret Service protection was charged Monday by federal prosecutors with that and two other alleged bag thefts in Washington, D.C., a court filing shows. The defendant, Mario Bustamente Leiva, is charged with robbery, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with the three alleged thefts between April 12 and 20, the third of which involved Noem as she dined with her family for Easter at Capital Burger. "Following each robbery, Bustamente Leiva made fraudulent purchases using the credit cards obtained from the victim of each robbery," a U.S. Secret Service agent wrote in a complaint against the Chilean national in U.S. District Court in D.C. Bustamente Leiva, a 49-year-old who prosecutors say is in the country illegally, was arrested Saturday in a D.C. motel. His alleged accomplice in the April 12 theft was arrested Sunday in South Florida, according to the Secret Service. That second man was not identified. A criminal complaint says that Secret Service officers who executed a search warrant in the motel room where Bustamente Leiva was arrested found Noem's purse and wallet, an American Express gift card, more than $3,170 in cash and clothing that appears to match a jacket and sneakers he wore when he allegedly committed the robberies on April 17 and 20. Noem's bag contained $3,000 in cash when it was swiped, authorities have said. The complaint also says that after stealing Noem's purse, Bustamente Leiva used several of her credit cards to buy food and alcohol at an Italian restaurant, and that he ultimately spent more than $205 in five purchases charged to her American Express cards. When he was arrested on Saturday at the motel, Bustamente Leiva was taken to a hospital after complaining of alcohol withdrawal, according to the court filing. After he was cleared from the hospital, he was interviewed by D.C. police and a Secret Service agent. He "stated that he was an alcoholic and therefore that he has memory issues," but admitted to stealing Noem's bag, the complaint said. After being shown a photo of Noem, he "denied having any prior knowledge of who" Noem was, the complaint said. The complaint details four thefts involving Bustamente Leiva, three of which he is charged with. In the April 20 incident, the one involving Noem, surveillance video showed the Homeland Security secretary dining at the Capital Burger restaurant and noticing that her purse, which she had placed at her feet, was missing. She then notified her Secret Service detail. When investigators looked at earlier footage, they saw Bustamente Leiva enter the restaurant at about 7:52 p.m. and sit "down at a table within an arm's reach of" Noem," the complaint says. Footage showed Bustamente Leiva twisting his body toward Noem's purse and moving his left leg, apparently to drag the purse toward him, according to the complaint. "The video then captured the suspect bend down with his jacket in one hand and, with his other hand, pick up an object from the floor that law enforcement determined to be [Noem's] purse," the complaint said. This alleged theft was the fourth one that authorities have connected to Bustamente Leiva, in just over a week's tim. In the first, on April 12, a woman told police that her purse had been taken from the back of her chair while she was dining at Nando's restaurant on F street in Northwest D.C. Surveillance video revealed Bustamente Leiva "stealthily removing" the victim's "purse from the back of her chair and exiting the Nando's," the complaint said. "During this offense, Bustamente Leiva appeared to be acting in concert with a second individual, Suspect-2," according to that filing. After that theft, the two men seen on the video went to a Safeway grocery store, where the man identified as Suspect-2 bought a $500 Visa gift card using the victim's credit card. Over the next four days, the gift card was used to make $462 worth of charges, including an April 12 transaction for a stay at the Motel 6 where Bustamente Leiva was arrested on Saturday, as well as other hotel stays, according to the complaint. The complaint details two thefts on the night of April 17, allegedly committed by Bustamente Leiva. In the first of those, at the Dolcezza coffee and gelato shop in downtown D.C., he is seen on surveillance video using his leg to pull a tan shoulder bag toward him from an outdoor table where a group of customers were sitting. He leaned down and removed a rectangular item consistent with the shape of a wallet or purse, the complaint said. Bustamente Leiva is not charged with that alleged theft. A short time later, surveillance video showed him at the Westin Hotel Downtown, a block away. The video was pulled by police when they investigated a complaint by a woman who had been dining at the Westin, who said her purse had been stolen from the back of her chair, the complaint said. The woman told police she had learned that her American Express card, which had been in her purse, was used to make an attempted purchase at what turned out to be the same Safeway that Bustamente Leiva and his alleged accomplice visited after the April 12 theft, the complaint said. Surveillance footage later showed Bustamente Leiva walking by the victim's chair at the Westin, and that her purse disappeared from the back of that chair after he passed by it with a coat covering his left arm, the complaint said. Other surveillance footage showed him about 15 minutes later at the Safeway, where he purchased a bottle of red wine for $12.12, and a $400 Amex gift card with the victim's American Express card. Authorities later excluded Bustamente Leiva's alleged accomplice in the other thefts from the April 17 crimes after they learned he "was in custody at the time of the offense awaiting a mental competency hearing," according to the criminal complaint.
