Woman enlists her children to break into their neighbor's house so they could steal furniture and place it outside: Cops

Inset: Nicole Bottiglieri-Vega (Miami-Dade Corrections). Background: Apartment complex in the 200 block of NE 53rd Street in Miami, Florida, where Bottiglieri-Vega allegedly broke into a neighbor's home (Google Maps).

A Florida woman is accused of breaking into her neighbor's apartment with her two children and stealing furniture, only to dump it in a common area.

Nicole Bottiglieri-Vega, 42, is charged with grand theft, contributing to the delinquency of a child, criminal mischief and resisting arrest.

Miami police responded on Oct. 29 to an apartment complex in the 200 block of NE 53rd Street after a man and his wife returned home from work to find several of their belongings in a rear common area, a probable cause arrest affidavit said.

The property manager reviewed surveillance camera footage and saw Bottiglieri-Vega, who was wearing a long dress, and two children allegedly forcing a back door open and entering the apartment, according to the affidavit.

Bottiglieri-Vega and the children started removing furniture and other property from the apartment and placed it outside, cops said. The property manager said the defendant and her children moved into the apartment complex about two weeks earlier.

Officers knocked on Bottiglieri-Vega's door but she refused to come outside, police said. Cops eventually forced their way in and found Bottiglieri-Vega in a bedroom. She allegedly resisted arrest, but officers took her into custody.

Bottiglieri-Vega's neighbors said they had worried about her children's welfare because they had seen her allegedly smoking crack cocaine and discarding glass pipes and small baggies near her home.

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Police took Bottiglieri-Vega to Miami police headquarters and placed her in a holding cell. Cops say she slipped out of her handcuffs and tried to escape, but officers quickly recuffed her.

The suspect reportedly refused to answer questions when detectives tried to interview her. She remains at the Miami-Dade County Jail on a $1,300 bond. She has pleaded not guilty. Her next court date was not immediately listed.

The Department of Children and Families also is investigating Bottiglieri-Vega's alleged actions.