Authorities have arrested two men in connection with the theft of a designer handbag belonging to US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The bag was stolen on Easter Sunday while Noem dined at Capital Burger, a popular Washington DC restaurant.
Police arrested 49-year-old Mario Bustamante Leiva on Saturday. The US Secret Service said Sunday that an alleged co-conspirator, 51-year-old Cristian Rodrigo Montecino-Sanzanaat, was apprehended in Miami. CBS News identified Montecino-Sanzanaat, who is reportedly tied to a “pattern of robberies and thefts.”
Bustamante Leiva faces charges of robbery, aggravated identity theft, and wire fraud. He allegedly used Noem’s credit card to spend over $200 at an Italian restaurant after stealing the handbag. Noem later said on X the suspect “is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.”