Out on bond for similar allegations, Miami mom enlists child in more thievery, cops say

MIAMI — A Miami woman already facing charges after police said she had her teenage son steal $1,300 from a man she was having sex with is now accused of enlisting her son to help steal a purse.

Read more FIFA World Cup 2026: Here is the June 17 schedule for Day 7 of group matches

Leer en español

Authorities said the crime happened on Thursday at a jewelry store in the Miami Design District. Police took Linda Maria Palacio, 41, of Little River, into custody on three charges on Tuesday while out on bond in the aforementioned case.

Investigators said an employee of Cadar Jewelry, located at 166 NE 39th St., left her purse in an employee-only area of the closed, under-construction store, when Palacio and her son went in through a rear entrance.

Miami police said surveillance video showed Palacio rummaging through the purse and opening a blue backpack she was carrying.

An arrest report states that she held the backpack open while her son placed the victim’s stolen items inside; the two then left together.

Authorities said rather than supervising and caring for her child, Palacio “encouraged and involved him in the commission of the criminal offense.”

Read more The Latest: Trump-backed candidates secure GOP Senate nominations in Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma

Police said they went to Palacio’s home near North Miami Avenue and 75th Street on Tuesday afternoon to take her into custody on charges of burglary, grand theft and contributing to the delinquency of a minor; authorities said she “denied knowledge” that her son was stealing the property, despite the video evidence implicating her.

Palacio also faced those exact same charges in January 2025 after Miami police said the previous November, she and her son broke into an apartment in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood and she had her son steal a jar of cash and other items from a man with whom she had been meeting at the apartment for sexual encounters.

That case remained active as of Wednesday and Palacio, who court records show has a history of assorted arrests in Miami-Dade dating back to 2009, was out on bond at the time of her latest cuffing.

As of Wednesday, Palacio was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a bond listed in jail records as “to be set.”

Read more Police: Man accused of sexual battery on FMU campus faces added charge after contacting victim from jail