Woman's Jewelry Pulled From Her Neck In Front Of Bensalem Home: Police

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —A man is being held on $1 million bail and a woman is being sought in a jewelry theft of a woman in front of her home last month, police said.

Paul Miclescu, 28, of Baltimore, MD., is charged with felonies, including robbery, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property.

Miclescu waived extradition to Bucks County, and on Monday, the Bucks County Sheriff's Department transported him from Baltimore to the Bensalem Township Police Department.

He was arraigned by District Justice Joseph Falcone on the felony charges and was remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in place of 10 percent of $1 million bail.

Bensalem Detectives are actively investigating the woman's identity in the robbery.

On Monday, Sept. 9, Bensalem Police responded to Maltese Court and spoke with the 79-year-old victim, who stated that she had been robbed of her jewelry in front of her home by two suspects in a black SUV.

Police reviewed video surveillance that captured the entire incident as it unfolded.

A black Ford Explorer driven by a man pulled into the parking lot in front of the home and a woman exited the passenger side, calling to the victim.

The victim walks from her porch to the vehicle in the parking lot. She only speaks Gujarati, a South Asian dialect, and doesn't understand what the woman is saying, police stated.

As the woman speaks, she removes the victim's jewelry from around her neck and tries to exchange it for fake jewelry she brought with her, police said.

When the elderly victim resists, the woman pulls the jewelry from her, gets back in the Ford Explorer, and both suspects flee with two necklaces and a bracelet valued at $15,000.

Bensalem Detectives reviewed police intersection cameras and license plate readers and identified the vehicle as belonging to AVIS Rental Car Company. The cameras also captured the driver of the SUV as it fled.

A further review showed the vehicle in Bensalem on previous dates, police said.

On one of those dates, the Ford Explorer pulled up to a Wawa and entered. A review of that video helped detectives identify the SUV driver at the time of the robbery.

On Sept. 26, detectives and officers from the Baltimore County Police Department went to Miclescu's home.

He was detained and had various pieces of jewelry in his possession, but the detectives did not recover any jewelry from the Bensalem robbery. It is believed that he pawned the items for cash somewhere in Maryland, police said.

Miclescu subsequently admitted to driving the SUV during the robbery in Bensalem on Sept. 9. Police then obtained a warrant for his arrest.