A burglary suspect who made headlines in 2015 after a video showed him breaking down in tears when the judge said she recognized him as one of her former middle school classmates is now back in prison.
Arthur Nathaniel Booth, 58, was arrested Wednesday for his connection to a series of crimes in August, Miami police said.
In one case, police said, he knocked on the victim’s door and pretended to be a water inspector.
“Once inside the house, he walked around, found a jewelry box, stole jewelry from the victim and fled in an unknown direction,” police spokesman Freddie Cruz said.
Booth is accused of committing a similar crime against another victim, posing as a plumber.
“Once inside the house, he actually grabbed the victim’s necklace and fled,” Cruz said.
The victim, an 85-year-old man, told NBC South Florida that Booth knocked on the door of his West Flagler Street home and asked him to turn on his bathtub faucet. When the man bent down to turn on the faucet, Booth grabbed his gold chain and ran.
The man said the necklace he got from Cuba was important to him.
In the third alleged incident, according to police, Booth asked a woman for directions “and also carried out another chain robbery.”
Cruz said they believe Booth may be connected to other incidents.
“A person like that belongs behind bars,” he said.
Almost ten years ago, Booth appeared before Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer after an alleged burglary and a police chase.
Glazer recognized Booth as one of her classmates from Nautilus Middle School and gave him some words of encouragement.
“I’m sorry to see you there. I always wondered what happened to you, sir,” Glazer said, according to NBC South Florida.
Booth seemed overwhelmed by his emotions and began to cry.
“He was the nicest kid in middle school. He was the best kid in middle school,” Glazer continued. “I played football with him and all the other kids, and look what happened.”
She said she was sorry to see Booth in the courtroom.
“Mr. Booth, I hope you can change your ways. Good luck,” she said. “It’s sad how old we’ve become. Good luck, sir. I hope you come out of this unscathed and can just live a law-abiding life.”
Booth was charged with a number of crimes, including robbery, burglary, home invasion and robbery without a firearm or weapon, according to online jail records. Attorney information was not available.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com.
