Bellevue Police have arrested three people within the last week believed to be tied to an organized crime ring that targeted the elderly for jewelry and cash.
On April 10th, Bellevue PD’s SWAT and Special Enforcement Team arrested Simona Paun, Maria Alexandra, and Ion Miclescu at a home in Kirkland.
Paun and Miclescu have been charged with theft and robbery for a string of robberies throughout Bellevue and King County.
“And we will re-arrest them if they bail out and put them back in jail until they have their day back in court,” Captain Ryan Parrot with Bellevue Police said.
Police also found additional evidence linking the suspects to these targeted thefts inside one of their homes.
“You know, the clothing they’re wearing. Now we can say for sure that based on surveillance video, this was the individual who looks like them and hey they actually own the same clothes they were wearing on the day this crime occurred,” Parrot said.
Charging documents lay out weeks of surveillance footage capturing the movements of Paun and Miclescu.
Bellevue Police, who have been investigating this crime ring for years, says they would target the elderly, even disabled people in parking lots at shopping centers, grocery stores, as well as parks.
Investigators say the suspects would offer a blessing or place a hand on their victims in order to gain easy access to someone’s jewelry, wallet, or whatever they could get their hands on.
“From there, they would identify a person who has jewelry or they would pat them down and feel if they have money or a wallet,” Parrot said.
Arraignments for both Paun and Miclescu are scheduled for Wednesday morning.
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