Miami Woman Arrested in Neighbor’s Apartment Burglary

Police said surveillance video showed Nicole Bottiglieri Vega, 42, entering a neighbor’s Miami apartment through its rear door on October 29 while the residents were at work. The residents returned around 3 p.m. and found belongings removed and scattered in a communal space that extended toward the road and parking area. The door, lock and some furniture were damaged, police said.

Building surveillance showed Vega departing her apartment alongside two children and heading to the neighbor’s unit, according to police. One child helped carry property outside. Vega had moved into the complex about two weeks earlier. A witness also told investigators she had seen Vega apparently smoking crack cocaine and depositing pipes and little plastic bags close to her apartment.

Officers tried to contact Vega once she came back to her apartment with the children, but she did not answer. The Florida Department of Children and Families sent an investigator that evening over concerns about the children’s welfare. Officers and DCF workers returned on October 30. Police said they heard screaming and saw blood near the door before entering the apartment and finding Vega in a bedroom.

Police said Vega resisted as officers tried to handcuff her. At the police station, she slipped one wrist out of the handcuffs and approached a holding-cell door before an officer restrained her again. She declined to answer detectives’ questions. Vega was booked on charges including third-degree grand theft, criminal mischief, contributing to a child’s delinquency or dependency, and resisting an officer without violence. Her bond was set at $11,650.