MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. (WPLG) – A Florida jeweler believes his social media presence led to three burglars holding his family hostage for hours in a home invasion.
Jeweler York Valdes has a massive following on Instagram and TikTok where he promotes his business, sharing the bold pieces he sells at his two stores in Miami-Dade County. But he thinks it was his social media presence that led three armed burglars to his house.
It was around midnight Thursday when Valdes says he was ambushed by three armed and masked men in his front yard. They forced him inside with his pregnant wife and young daughter.
Officer Samantha Choon, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office, says the suspects gathered the family in one room, where one of the men held them at gunpoint. The other two men then ransacked the home.
Deputies say the burglars got away with Valdes’ jewelry and clothing as well as his white Cadillac SUV.
“There were no injuries, and we are fortunate for that; but this was a scary situation,” Choon said.
Valdes says the whole ordeal lasted at least five hours and the suspects threatened to kidnap his daughter.
“The biggest fear of my life is that something would happen to my daughter,” he wrote in Spanish on TikTok following the incident. “This is a lesson I learned to slow down a bit on social media.”
Valdes fears the burglars follow him online, where he posts videos of his home, cars and the distinctive, life-size statue of Saint Lazarus, the Catholic patron saint of the poor and sick, out front.
“They think that I have money at my house. It’s the first time that I bring some expensive watch to my house. I never bring it to my house. I always put it in my safe box,” he said.
Investigators are still searching for the suspects. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Copyright 2025 WPLG via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.