A Cuban woman is facing a series of serious charges after allegedly paying someone to falsely confess to a robbery her boyfriend committed at a Hialeah store last November, authorities reported.
Daiselys Barbosa, a 31-year-old resident of Hialeah, was arrested on January 29, facing three felony charges: accessory after the fact, tampering with evidence, and witness tampering, according to Local 10 News, which cited official sources.
Barbosa attempted to shield her boyfriend, Suniel Arzola, who was apprehended for robbing a Hialeah grocery store and vandalizing its gaming machines in a fit of rage after losing $3,800 on November 30, 2025.
Nearing two months after the incident, on January 24, Barbosa went to the Hialeah Police Department with a man she claimed was the actual perpetrator of the armed robbery at RC La Atenas Market & Smoke Shop, situated in a warehouse district at East 10th Avenue and 32nd Street.
According to the police report, accessed by CiberCuba, Barbosa asserted that the individual, identified as Francisco Ayala, was intoxicated and had confessed to being the real thief, not her boyfriend.
When detectives questioned Mr. Ayala about the robbery location, he replied, "I don't know, she will tell you," gesturing towards Barbosa.
Later, when asked if he had committed the crime, Ayala confirmed it while "blinking one eye repeatedly," a gesture that exposed the deception.
Ultimately, Ayala disclosed that Barbosa had paid him $4,000 to "come forward and take the blame."
On January 29, officers summoned Barbosa to the police station and arrested her. She was subsequently taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, with bail set at $10,000 USD.
Details of the Heist
Shortly after 11:45 pm on November 30, Suniel Arzola, age 46, stormed into the store with his face concealed and wielding a sledgehammer. He "jumped over the counter," seized the employee's mobile phone, and forced her into the restroom.
Following this, Arzola smashed at least four slot machines and emptied them of cash; he also raided the cash register and counter, taking the employee's purse.
Surveillance cameras captured Arzola fleeing the scene on a bicycle. During his escape, he dropped an item in the parking lot.
Later, video footage also captured a woman—later identified as Barbosa—arriving at the scene in a 2011 Dodge Ram truck, exiting the vehicle, and retrieving the item, which turned out to be the hammer Arzola had used to destroy the gaming machines during the heist.
This clue led investigators to a nearby warehouse registered under Arzola's name. There, they found the suspect and his girlfriend, and both were taken in for questioning.
The woman informed the police that her partner had left the warehouse "for a few hours the night of the robbery and returned just before midnight."
She also mentioned that she had driven to the store where the robbery occurred that same night to play on the machines when she "saw a hammer on the ground and picked it up." She then returned to the vehicle and disposed of the hammer, "according to her, for no apparent reason," the police report noted.
When questioned, Arzola denied any involvement in the robbery but admitted to losing $3,800 on the store's gaming machines that day.
With the obtained information and evidence, the police charged him with armed robbery, false imprisonment with a deadly weapon, and criminal mischief, according to Miami-Dade County court records.
Key Questions on the Hialeah Robbery Case
What charges is Daiselys Barbosa facing?
Daiselys Barbosa is facing charges of being an accessory after the fact, tampering with evidence, and witness tampering.
Who is Suniel Arzola and what did he do?
Suniel Arzola is the boyfriend of Daiselys Barbosa, accused of robbing a Hialeah store and vandalizing its gaming machines after losing $3,800.
How did surveillance footage implicate Barbosa?
Surveillance footage showed Barbosa arriving at the scene in a truck, picking up the hammer used in the robbery, which linked her to the crime.