Man arrested in theft of DHS chief Kristi Noem
Noem's purse, which contained $3,000 in cash and her DHS access card, was stolen from DC restaurant last week. It's not clear if the suspect targeting Noem or it was a random crime.
A second arrest has been made in connection to the theft of Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's purse while she was out having lunch on Easter with her family.
Authorities announced that they apprehended the accomplice believed to be tied to the series of thefts in D.C. in Miami on Sunday.
"The individual is believed to be a co-conspirator in those incidents with the primary defendant who is accused of committing a robbery against Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem," a spokesperson for the Secret Service shared in a statement.
"Public safety is strongest when built on trust and collaboration," Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros said. "We are grateful to the Miami Beach Police Department for their swift and outstanding assistance in today's apprehension. After receiving information from Washington, Miami Beach Police officers quickly implemented targeted patrols and located the defendant, who was taken into custody without incident."
SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED THEFT OF KRISTI NOEM'S BAG CONTAINING $3K IN CASH: REPORTS
The identity of the alleged accomplice has not been released, but officials said the suspect is currently being held on an immigration detainer as charges are finalized.
This comes hours after authorities announced the first arrest of an illegal immigrant with an extensive criminal history who was believed to be tied to theft.
"Thank you to Secret Service and ICE 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," Noem's spokesperson shared in a statement with Fox News Digital.
Noem said, "This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years."
The Secret Service spokesperson said that they determined the theft was not targeted and had nothing to do with "Secretary Noem or her role as Secretary of Homeland Security."
Retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro told Fox News Digital he agreed with the Secret Service and believes that this theft was not targeted specifically at Noem, but rather motivated by the luxury bag itself.
"This was not targeted. This is pretty much the bottom of the criminal food chain. They, I know he had an accomplice, just wanted to make money and get away with it," Mauro explained. "Why invite the kind of scrutiny the head of DHS would invite? We’re not talking about KGB here."
The suspect was identified as 49-year-old Mario Bustamante Leiva, who authorities say is an illegally present Chilean national, who was linked to a series of thefts in April, according to the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
Officials said in each ruse, Leiva approached victims as they ate in a restaurant, stole their purses from the back of their seats, and then fled the scene.
Detectives located video evidence of the thefts which led them to identify the alleged suspect as Levia. He was arrested on Saturday and charged with two counts of robbery and faces additional charges for an offense being investigated by the United States Secret Service, officials said.
DHS CHIEF KRISTI NOEM REVEALS HOW HER PURSE WAS STOLEN AT RESTAURANT: 'PROFESSIONALLY DONE'
Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is seen during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, April 14. (Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"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," Noem said.
KIMMEL MOCKS DHS SEC KRISTI NOEM FOR GETTING ROBBED, SAYS HER BEING CRIME VICTIM IS 'EMBARRASSING'
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem watches during a vehicle scan during a tour of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, in San Diego, U.S., March 16, 2025. (Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS)
Noem was with her family on Easter Sunday at The Capital Burger in Washington, D.C., when the suspect nabbed her luxury bag containing the cash as well as her driver’s license, passport, medication, makeup bag, blank checks, DHS badge, apartment keys and a Louis Vuitton Clemence wallet.
The bag was on the floor at her table when it was stolen, according to a complaint filed with local police.
Security footage captured a white man in a N95 surgical mask, dark pants and a baseball cap grabbing the bag before leaving the restaurant.
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"It was kind of shocking, actually, because it was sitting right by my feet. I actually felt my purse, he hooked it with his foot and drug it a few steps away and dropped a coat over it and took it," Noem told podcaster Vince Coglianese on the "VINCE Show."
"I felt it, but I thought it was my grandkids kicking me in the legs. But it was very professionally done, and it tells that this happens all the time to people and that they live in communities where this is a danger and it reaffirms why I am here," she added.
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
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