The ‘career criminal' accused of stealing Kristi Noem's handbag

Telegraph

09-05-2025

A Gucci shoulder bag worth thousands, left under a woman's seat in a burger restaurant, probably looked like an easy target.
After spotting the bag, a thief in a Covid mask and dark cap hooked his foot through the strap, tugged it over to his table and swiftly exited the building before heading out onto the evening streets of Washington, DC, prosecutors say.
It seems to have been sheer bad luck for the man, whom authorities claim is Mario Bustamante Leiva, that the bag belonged to Kristi Noem, the US homeland security secretary and one of the most powerful figures in Donald Trump's government.
Court documents claim the theft of Ms Noem's bag was just one incident in a one-man crime spree, alleging the suspect committed three separate robberies in just over a week in the city.
Mr Leiva, a Chilean national whom police said has admitted to stealing Ms Noem's bag after being arrested last month, reportedly honed his pickpocketing skills on the streets of London more than a decade ago.
The 49-year-old, who was branded a 'career criminal' by Ms Noem, and whom the department of homeland security (DHS) says is in the US illegally, was previously handed a prison sentence for a series of thefts in Britain.
In the space of five months, he reportedly stole £21,000 ($27,800) of phones, wallets and computers in bars and cafes in high-end areas of London, the Daily Mail reported.
When Mr Leiva was finally arrested in December 2014 entering a pub north of London Bridge, he was said to have been listening to a stolen iPod.
Mr Leiva, a father of three with no fixed address, reportedly admitted to 22 charges of theft, and was sentenced to three years in prison by a judge who branded him 'dishonest to his fingertips', according to the Daily Mail.
It is unclear how long Mr Leiva spent in prison. He is reported to have entered the US legally in 2021 under Joe Biden, before breaching the terms of his admission.
Chile is the only South American state that belongs to the US's visa waiver programme, which allows citizens to enter for 90 days – although it is unclear if Mr Leiva made use of this.
The New York Post reports he belonged to a large 'robbery organisation' operating on the East Coast, although this is not mentioned in court documents.
Authorities place him in Washington, DC, on April 12 this year, where he is said to have removed a woman's purse from the back of her chair while she was eating in a Nando's restaurant, using his jacket to conceal it on his way out.
He allegedly acted alongside a second individual who blocked the theft from view.
The pair then apparently went to a Safeway supermarket, where Mr Leiva's alleged accomplice is said to have bought a £377 ($500) gift card using the woman's credit card.
Five days later, Mr Leiva had re-appeared at DC's downtown Westin Hotel, where he allegedly walked in with a coat hanging over his left arm, brushing past the chair where a woman was eating with her family – and swiping her purse in the process.
On his way there, at the Dolcezza coffee shop a block away, he appears to have removed an object – the size of a wallet or purse, investigators said – from a tan shoulder bag.
He is then said to have returned to the Safeway and made two purchases: a £9 ($12) bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and ten minutes later, a £300 ($400) gift card.
On April 19 he appeared in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he called the police and reported that he had been sleeping on a bench when he was robbed by five men, saying they had taken his bag containing over £755 ($1,000) in cash and Chilean passport.
Officers noted that he was 'somewhat un-cooperative' and smelled strongly of alcohol.
On April 20, Kristi Noem took her family, including her grandchildren, out for dinner at Capital Burger, a restaurant located roughly halfway between the White House and US Capitol.
The homeland security secretary had £2,270 ($3,000) in cash in her handbag, which she intended to use to pay for the meal.
'[Ms Noem's] entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren – she was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts,' a DHS spokesperson said after the incident.
It is unclear whether Mr Leiva, had he been in the restaurant, would have recognised Ms Noem had he been in Capital Burger, or realised two of the men sat at the bar near her table were plainclothes Secret Service officers.
Prosecutors do not allege he targeted her because she is the face of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown,
Instead, authorities allege it was Ms Noem's Gucci shoulder bag that caught his eye.
'Frankly, it was a nice-looking purse,' Ed Martin, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, later told NBC News.
Referencing to CCTV footage of the incident, he added: 'This was not an amateur. This was a person, a thief, that knew how to do this. You could see how he scouted the room out.'
The relatively upmarket restaurant – its flagship burger, which boasts caramelised onions, Gruyère cheese and shallot aioli, costs £17 ($23) – is dimly lit with tables set close together.
Mr Leiva is said to have edged his chair towards the homeland security secretary, twisted his body to the left, and used his leg to edge the bag towards him before scooping it up and leaving abruptly.
He reportedly told police that he disposed of most of the contents of the bag, which included Ms Noem's driving licence, government identification card, medication and keys, but kept her purse and the £2,270 ($3,000) she had inside.
He then apparently boarded a bus to an Italian restaurant, where he spent more than £151 ($200) on food and drink with her credit cards, leaving both the bag and purse in full view of a security camera as he sat at the bar.
Mr Leiva then allegedly headed outside and is said to have fallen asleep at one of the restaurant's tables until 7.30am the following morning.
Police later arrested him at a Motel 6 in northern Washington, roughly a 35-minute bus ride from Capital Burger.
According to documents submitted to DC's US district court, Mr Leiva admitted to stealing Ms Noem's bag but could not remember the other offences, citing memory loss caused by alcoholism.
Staff at a Quality Inn had told authorities that he had drunkenly argued with a shift manager who had asked him to return to his room.
Soon after his arrest he was transferred to hospital after complaining of alcohol withdrawal, according to the court filing.
He has been charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and robbery in connection with the three thefts.