Caretaker Accused Of Stealing $100K In Jewelry From Coral Gables Couple
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The theft of approximately one hundred thousand dollars in jewelry from a Coral Gables home appears to have been an inside job.
Francisco Castillo-Lumbi, 36, has been charged with first-degree grand theft by a contractor and exploitation of the elderly.
Castillo-Lumbi had been hired by the couple who live in the home, as a caretaker.
On August 2nd, the woman and her son went to the police to report that thousands of dollars of her jewelry were missing.
The woman said the jewelry she had collected, acquired from family and various trade shows was being stolen. She told the police she had a meticulous method of keeping track of every piece so she knew she had not misplaced them.
Since she and her son were going out of town for three days beginning July 27th, she instructed him to set up a spy cam in the master bedroom where she kept all of her jewelry in two dresser towers.
On the night of July 27th, Castillo-Lumbi was in the house alone taking care of her husband.
Just before 11 p.m., the spy cam captured Castillo-Lumbi enter the master bedroom and use a light from his cell phone to search through the jewelry drawers, according to the arrest report.
Video reportedly showed Castillo-Lumbi putting several pieces of jewelry in his pockets.
On August 6th, he was arrested. Police are now in the process of trying to recover the jewelry.