Hialeah Couple Arrested in Alleged Multi-Store Jewelry Theft Scheme

Jennifer Izquierdo, 43, and Steven Louis Romero, 39, were arrested Monday on charges of grand theft, organized fraud, and organized scheme to defraud conspiracy after Hialeah police linked them to thefts at two local jewelry stores that together netted an estimated $13,000 in gold per incident.

The scheme, as described in arrest reports, was choreographed to appear unremarkable from the inside. At Estrella De Oro, 8275 West 12th Avenue, on January 23, Romero entered first and browsed as a prospective buyer. When Izquierdo arrived shortly after and was buzzed through the security door, she held it open long enough for Romero to bolt, carrying several gold items valued at over $13,000. He fled in a red Nissan Sentra, leaving Izquierdo behind, "as if she had no involvement in the crime," arrest reports said. That same day, investigators found, Romero pawned a gold bracelet, a Cuban necklace, and a pendant for $13,000.

The pair allegedly used a variation of the same method at Cuban Dan Jewelry, another Hialeah-area store. On the day of that theft, Izquierdo pawned a Cuban link chain bearing a Cuban Dan marking and a second Cuban link chain for $10,700, according to arrest reports. The provenance detail, a chain stamped with the name of the store it was allegedly stolen from, became part of the evidence trail investigators assembled.

Surveillance footage captured Romero and Izquierdo parking a Chevrolet Malibu several blocks from one of the stores, a precaution that ultimately contributed to their identification. Records showed the Malibu was registered to Romero's mother and the red Nissan Sentra to his grandfather. A witness from Cuban Dan Jewelry separately identified both suspects through a photo lineup.

Hialeah police Chief George Fuente described the financial pattern investigators uncovered: "In each case, we are looking at an average of $13,000 in stolen jewelry. They would go and pawn it later on." Both suspects were reportedly booked into jail Monday night.

The case illustrates a vulnerability that even security-conscious jewelers face. The buzz-in entry system, designed to screen unknown visitors, was turned into the mechanism of the theft itself, with one suspect granted access while the other used that brief open door as an exit with stolen merchandise. The pawn shop paper trail, including a chain still marked with the store it allegedly came from, proved more durable than the scheme.