MIAMI – Julian Flores, 25, and his mother, Lourdes Diaz, 56, of Naples, Fla., each pled guilty to charges stemming from a brazen armed robbery of $750,000 worth of gold jewelry from a business owner in Hialeah, Fla.
On Sept. 16, 2023, the victim-business owner began to load a suitcase of jewelry into a vehicle in a commercial parking lot in Hialeah when Diaz backed up a white SUV rental from a nearby parking spot, and Flores hopped out of the back seat, garbed in black clothing and a ski mask. While brandishing a revolver in his gloved hand, Flores rushed at the victim, grabbed the suitcase full of jewelry and attempted to rip it away from the victim. When the victim held onto the suitcase, Flores struck the victim’s body multiple times with revolver. The victim continued to grasp the suitcase and yell out for help, at which point Flores fired off a shot from the revolver towards the ground, gained control of the suitcase, and hopped back into the white SUV rental. Diaz drove herself and Flores away from the scene.
On Oct. 2, 2023, law enforcement located Flores and took him into custody. At the time of his arrest, Flores was wearing gold jewelry from the victim’s collection.
After Flores was arrested, Diaz concealed a black safe containing the victim’s jewelry inside the residence of one of Flores’s close associates. On Oct. 3, 2023, law enforcement arrested Diaz near that residence. Law enforcement executed a search warrant and recovered the black safe which contained the remainder of the gold jewelry stolen from the victim.
On Nov. 22, 2024, U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian accepted Diaz’s guilty plea to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, and brandishing a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence. On Nov. 26, 2024, Flores entered his guilty plea as to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, and discharging a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence. Each defendant faces a maximum term of imprisonment up to life. Judge Damian will sentence each defendant after a review of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings have not yet been scheduled in this matter.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and Chief George Fuente of the Hialeah Police Department announced the guilty pleas.
ATF and the Hialeah Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sterling M. Paulson is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr- 20472.
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