A couple who tried to pull a "lottery scam" on an elderly woman in Hialeah stole her jewelry then kidnapped her and forced her to take cash out at an ATM, police said.
Lady Milena Rojas-Chauta, 39, and David Alberto Agudelo, 32, were arrested Tuesday on charges of kidnapping, armed robbery, and exploitation of the elderly, arrest reports said.
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The reports said the victim, 75-year-old Maria Ortega, was walking home from the grocery store when she was approached by Agudelo and Rojas-Chauta.
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The pair were trying to defraud Ortega through a lottery scam commonly known as "pigeon drop," where the victim is asked to provide money to secure a larger amount of money, the reports said.
Rojas-Chauta eventually asked Ortega if she could use her restroom, and Ortega let her inside her home, the reports said.
Once inside, Rojas-Chauta pressed an unknown object into Ortega's back and demanded all her jewelry, the reports said.
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"She hit me with something. That’s when she said 'give me all your jewelry' and I handed everything over," Ortega told NBC 6 in Spanish Wednesday.
Ortega handed over about $2,000 worth of jewelry before Rojas-Chauta ordered her out of the home and into a car that was being driven by Agudelo, the reports said.
The pair drove Ortega to a bank in Hialeah where she was ordered to withdraw $1,200 from her account, the reports said.
They then drove her to a home where she was ordered to knock on the door and ask for $1,000, and as she did, they fled the scene, the reports said.
“I started crying and screaming. I felt so nervous but managed to call police," Ortega said.
Detectives reviewed surveillance footage that showed the suspects and the vehicle they were in, and the detectives were able to track down the vehicle, a silver Ford Explorer with a distinctive black stripe decal on its doors and a square white sticker, the reports said.
Agudelo, who was driving the Explorer, was picked out of a photo lineup by the elderly victim, the reports said.
And when investigators found Rojas-Chauta, she had the same knuckle tattoo that was seen on the female suspect in surveillance footage, the reports said.
Agudelo and Rojas-Chauta were booked into jail where they remained held without bond Wednesday, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
“I feel scared and I’m scared to go out. Yesterday was my first day out and I could not go out alone," Ortega said Wednesday. "Every night I have nightmares. I see his face and her. I thought I was going to be killed."
