The five accused friends Robbing Miami’s Dolphin Mall They appeared in public this Monday a central hotel in Mendoza, City where they live. They assured that they did not steal, they say that it was so a confusion and that, according to his version, the only thing that happened was that an alarm went off when he left one of the stores.
Juan Pablo Rúa (45), Juan Manuel Zuloaga (49), Diego Luis Xiccato (46) and Mauricio Ariel Aparo (49) are the four who spoke publicly in a round of interviews with various local and national media. The fifth defendant is Sebastian Luis Moyano (41)who also accompanied the press tour at the Diplomatic Hotel. The Justice of the United States charged with theft and orchestrating a robbery plan.
“We didn’t go to rob a mall, We don’t have to steal. “We did not plan to travel to the United States to steal 10 pieces of clothing,” Juan Pablo Rúa, a middle-class businessman with ties to telephone, clothing and gym companies, told Radio Nihuil.
The Mendoza friends’ version is that an alarm sounded at the door of one of the stores where they were shopping. The one who wore this garment, according to Rúa, It was the hairdresser Xiccato.
He was filmed in a Tommy Hilfiger store He kept the allegedly stolen goods in a suitcasewhich, according to the indictment, had previously been stolen from the store in Burlington.
Rúa, who said he often travels to Miami, tried to explain why the movement of suitcases had become suspicious for local authorities: “During these three holidays, people come in with suitcases because there are so many purchases that need to be stored,” he told TN.
He then described the moment the hairdresser was arrested: “When Diego was intercepted by the police, They don’t explain it to him in Spanish and see on the cameras that he came in with us, That’s why they looked for us in the food court.” He said that the hairdresser He became nervous about the situationbecause he didn’t understand what was happening.
“In the United States they dress us in an orange suit, as they do in every court case, and so are we.” condemned socially and in the mediaand paid a very high price for what really happened. It affects our families, our children cannot go to school or play sports,” lamented Rúa. “Wearing an orange suit doesn’t make you guilty.”he remarked.
Mendoza residents said they did not understand what police were telling them because none of them spoke English. And they said that they bought clothes and put them in their suitcases to do quick shopping, and that they even stored clothes in other people’s suitcases. But they assure it Most clothing items have physical or digital tickets that justify their purchase.
Zuloaga insisted: “It was all very confusingNone of us speak English, they took us from one place to another. We presented some tickets, but everyone’s clothes were mixed in the suitcases, and We found it difficult to justify this“.
Xiccato also spoke to Channel 7 from Mendoza and said: “We are workers, we did not steal. We want to stop this spread because it has affected us as a family. We want this to end.” He also announced that he would be returning to his hair salon this week.
The friends took turns giving interviews, always accompanied by lawyer Roberto Castillo. Aparo told TN: “We decided to go out and talk because We want you to help us make it clear that we are innocent. and be able to clear our names.”
Rua again mentioned that it was not a criminal plan: “We are not a group that spends an entire year planning how to go to Miami to steal a piece of clothing, we are all innocent“.
By paying bail of between $4,000 and $4,500 per person, the Argentines were released and returned to Argentina. Now they have to follow the legal process.
A new hearing is scheduled for January 29 in Miami where the facts of the case will be detailed and the charges announced. But as they progressedThe defendants do not plan to return to the United States. They would continue to be tried remotely and represented abroad by lawyer Nayib Hassan.
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