Woman Allegedly Tried on $15K Ring, Walked Out With It

Jannet Novelo-Aqela faces felony charge of grand theft
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 5, 2021 9:10 AM CST
Updated Mar 5, 2021 9:15 AM CST
Cops Say Woman Walked Out of Store With $15K Ring
The Crime Stoppers poster, allegedly showing Jannet Novelo-Aqela, 43.   (Crime Stoppers )

A Florida woman has been arrested almost a month after she allegedly snagged a $15,000 diamond ring from a jewelry store in Key West. The manager of Gold Silver Creations says that on Feb. 10 a female shopper in a floral jumpsuit tried on a three-diamond, 14-karat white gold ring then replaced it with one of her own rings, per the Miami Herald and NBC Miami. The manager snapped photos of her as she exited the store. Weeks later, Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys put out a poster about the theft, including the woman's photo, and tips rolled in. Within days, police had a name, a phone number, and a license plate number, as a witness had spotted a woman wearing the ring at the bar in an Outback Steakhouse, then leaving in a Toyota Sienna, per the Herald. Police traced the vehicle to an apartment on Stock Island, according to an arrest warrant.

Jannet Novelo-Aqela, 43, was arrested Wednesday after the store manager picked her out of a lineup. She faces a felony charge of grand theft and has posted $25,000 bond. Meanwhile, police in Florida continue to search for a man accused of stealing his girlfriend's engagement ring and wedding band from a previous marriage so he could give the set to another of his lovers. The Orange City woman says that after learning her boyfriend was engaged, she looked at the other woman's Facebook page and saw a photo of the Orlando woman wearing her rings, per the Orlando Sentinel. Joseph L. Davis, 48, who used the aliases Joseph Brown and Marcus Brown, is a convicted felon in North Carolina and Oregon, where he has an active arrest warrant for a hit and run crash, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office. He faces a felony charge of grand theft in Florida. (More theft stories.)

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