Esther Torres, 20, pleaded guilty to armed robbery, burglary, and grand theft after luring victims to hotel rooms in Miami Beach.
A Florida woman accused of luring men to hotel rooms, pepper-spraying them, and stealing their high-end watches has been sentenced to five years of probation. Esther Torres, 20, whose case concluded Wednesday with a plea agreement, was originally arrested on two counts of first-degree robbery.
The incidents, both occurring in late March, involved Torres targeting men at prominent Miami Beach hotels. According to the Miami Beach Police Department, her scheme involved the use of a chemical weapon before making off with valuable timepieces and other belongings.
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The first robbery took place at the Breakwater Hotel. The victim reported being pepper-sprayed before his Hugo Boss watch was forcibly removed from his wrist. In addition to the watch, the perpetrator stole over $200 in cash and Euros, along with several credit cards, police said.
Just days later, a second incident unfolded at the Fontainebleau Hotel. In this case, a man was pepper-sprayed, with the assailant making off with a $22,000 Rolex Submariner. The victim claimed he was temporarily blinded by the pepper spray during the attack.
“We have a predator, and she’s preying on male victims,” Mitch Novick, owner of the Sherbrooke Hotel, told Fox affiliate WSVN, highlighting the nature of Torres’s alleged crimes. Investigators had contacted Novick for assistance with surveillance footage, which he readily provided.
Police stated that surveillance footage from both hotels showed Torres leaving the premises after the robberies occurred.
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Torres’s identity was confirmed in May after police connected her to a “need to identify” flyer. Her initial arrest occurred in April when she arrived to pick up a vehicle during someone else’s traffic stop, drawing the attention of officers.
Upon her arrest, body-worn camera footage showed officers questioning Torres, who had a child in her car at the time. She was initially ordered to be detained without bond but was later granted a recognizance bond in late June.
This Wednesday, Torres was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to counts of armed robbery, burglary, and third-degree grand theft. She is no longer in the jail system.
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