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A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office investigation culminated in the arrest of a Miami International Airport contract worker Thursday on charges related to the theft and sale of a luxury timepiece. The suspect, Carlos Elky Penton, 45, of Hialeah, allegedly sold a Cartier Santos watch worth substantially more than the $1,500 he received at a local jewelry store on June 11.
The watch belonged to an American Airlines passenger who had flown from North Carolina to Miami on June 8 and inadvertently left behind a black leather crossbody bag at the airport. The abandoned bag contained approximately $12,377.90 in valuables, including the Cartier timepiece and AirPods, according to investigators.
The passenger initially tracked his missing AirPods using a mobile app but the signal ceased updating within days. On July 1, more than three weeks after the bag’s disappearance, he located his watch listed on DannysVintageWatches.com, a New York-based online retailer. The victim positively identified his property through a distinctive gash visible on the upper-left portion of the watch’s bezel, which matched photographs of him wearing the timepiece.
Detectives traced the watch through a chain of Miami-based brokers using subpoenas issued on August 7. Records revealed Danny’s Vintage Watches had purchased the item from Brickell Watches, which in turn had acquired it from Consistent Luxury LLC. That firm had sourced the watch from Vera Jewelry at 12260 SW Eighth Street, where Penton had completed the sale.
Penton worked for Eulen, a contractor responsible for servicing aircraft at Miami International Airport after passengers disembark. The company had serviced the aircraft used for the victim’s June 8 flight. When deputies apprehended him behind a Hialeah residence Thursday, Penton waived his Miranda rights and claimed a co-worker had given him the watch, acknowledging he knew neither its legitimate owner nor that it did not belong to him.
The suspect was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and charged with dealing in stolen property. As of Friday afternoon, Penton remained in custody on a $7,500 bond. The status of whether the watch was ultimately returned to the victim remains unclear.
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