A Dutchess County couple have pleaded guilty to targeting three elderly Asian women from Flushing and robbed them of their gold necklaces.
Marcideza Dumitru, 29, and her husband, Constantin Miclescu, 30, both of Poughkeepsie, NY, pleaded guilty to charges of fourth-degree grand larceny as a hate crime. After Dumitru and Miclescu were held in jail in lieu of $30,000 and $20,000 bail, respectively, they were immediately sentenced to nine months in prison.
According to criminal charges, on three separate occasions between March and April 2017, Dumitru approached three women, aged 68-, 79- and 81-years -old, all of whom were wearing gold necklaces. Dumitru engaged the women in conversation, and before she left, she placed a fake yellow metal necklace around their necks.
Once Dumitru departed, the victims noticed that their gold necklaces were missing from around their necks.
Video surveillance of each incident showed Dumitru speaking with her victims and then getting into the front passenger seat of a vehicle. On April 18, the date of the final incident, Dumitru was seen getting into a gray Infinite QX30, which was rented in Miclescu’s name.
While the crimes were being committed, Miclescu was wearing an ICE ankle bracelet equipped with a GPS device. The tracks were subpoenaed by the New York City Police Department’s Financial Crimes Task Force and reviewed, placing Miclescu at each of the crime locations.
“The three targeted victims were all elderly Asian women aged 68, 79 and 81, who were wearing expensive gold necklaces,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “The defendants’ guilty pleas ensure that the victims of their crimes, which were motivated by hate, will receive justice. Hate crimes – whether motivated by age, sexual orientation, gender, religious or ethnic bias – will never be tolerated in Queens County.”
