Ex-Heat employee pleads guilty to felony charge in jersey-stealing case
A former Miami heat safety agent pleaded guilty before a federal court to steal team memories worth millions of dollars and sell items to online brokers.
Miami’s retirement police officer Marcos Tomas Perez appeared on Tuesday at the US Superior Court of the South District of Florida and pronounced a guilt of guilt and transfer of stolen goods in interstate trade, after pleading non-guilty to the criminal count during a first hearing earlier this month.
Perez’s lawyer Robert Buschel told NBC6 in Florida after Tuesday’s hearing that Perez was “depressed, of course, but he accepts responsibility for his behavior and we will solve this problem in his life”.
Perez, 62, risks up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $ 250,000. He should be sentenced on October 31.
“I hope the judge will examine all the factors of his life and his story as a good person,” said Buschel. “He was an exemplary police officer in the city of Miami, he has been withdrawn for almost 10 years. He was an unfortunate set of decisions he made and he will accept responsibility for it. ”
Buschel refused to comment more when reached by the time by email on Wednesday.
According to a press release from the US prosecutor’s office for the Florida South District and the FBI Miami Miami field office, Perez admitted having stolen hundreds of jerseys worn and other memories of millions of dollars belonging to heat and selling them to online brokers.
One of these articles was a jersey that LeBron James wore in match 7 of the NBA 2013 final, during which James and The Heat beat San Antonio Spurs 95-88 to win their second consecutive championship. After Perez sold the jersey for around $ 100,000, it was sold online auction for $ 3.7 million in 2023.
According to court documents, other stolen articles included jerseys signed by the former Heat Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler stars, Chris Bosh, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal, as well as team jackets, sneakers by play and more.
