(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Federal agents have cuffed a second suspect in the puzzling saga of the stolen Gucci purse belonging to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Cristian Rodrigo Montecino-Sanzana, 51, was taken into custody in Miami Beach, Florida, on Sunday, WSVN reported. His alleged accomplice, 49-year-old Mario Bustamante-Leiva, was arrested earlier in Washington, D.C.
Bustamante-Leiva, believed to be an illegal alien from Chile, made national headlines after stealing Noem’s bag while she dined with family at Capitol Burger on Easter, according to federal prosecutors.
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
On Sunday, Montecino-Sanzana appeared before Florida judge Mindy S. Glazer, who informed him that he was being held “for possession of a stolen or fictitious driver’s license.”
Prosecutors alleged Montecino-Sanzana and Bustamante-Leiva stole Noem’s designer purse, which contained $3,000 in cash, her keys, medication, driver’s license, passport and Homeland Security badge.
Investigators later spotted Montecino-Sanzana entering a Walgreens in Miami Beach, according to WSVN. Investigators said they found in his possession an identification that did not match his name.
The arrest record noted that the suspect had “purchased the California identification card for work purposes.”
His bond was set at $2,500. It remains unclear whether Montecino-Sanzana will face federal charges.
Noem condemned the theft in a post on X, calling Bustamante-Leiva a “career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.”
She added, “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.”
