A perp who went viral in 2015 after a Florida judge recognized him from middle school and wished for him to “lead a lawful life” has just landed himself back in jail on similar charges.
Arthur Nathaniel Booth, 58, was nabbed last week over a string of alleged snatch-and-grab jewelry robberies in Miami that unfolded earlier this month — including one where he’s accused of snatching a woman’s Gucci chain from around her neck, the Miami Police Department said.
In one violent ordeal, Booth is accused of posing as a plumber to allegedly force his way into 78-year-old man’s apartment, Local10 reported, citing a police report.
He allegedly “forcibly snatched” the victim’s $1,500 gold necklace from around his neck, pushed him and then fled the home, cops said.
Booth later pretended to be a water inspector to gain access to another victim’s home where he allegedly stole a jewelry box.
Police said he also allegedly targeted a woman who had been changing a tire on the side of the road by pretending to ask for directions.
When the woman turned her back on him in that incident, he is accused of grabbing her gold Gucci chain with multiple pendants and taking off.
Booth was arrested on multiple of counts of burglary with assault or battery and robbery by sudden snatching over the string of robberies after police identified him via surveillance footage and tracked him down.
The recent busts come nearly a decade after Booth first made headlines when he was hauled before Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer on similar burglary and grand theft charges.
He was filmed breaking down into tears when the judge suddenly asked him if he’d attended Nautilus Middle School back in the day.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness,” Booth sobbed in the now viral clip.
“I’m sorry to see you here,” Glazer responded, adding “I always wondered what happened to you sir.”
Booth then collapsed in a heap as the judge rattled off a flurry of compliments about him to the courtroom.
“This was the nicest kid in middle school. He was the best kid in middle school. I used to play football with him, all the kids, and look what has happened,” she said.
The judge then wished Booth good luck as she set his bond in the case, telling him: “I hope you are able to come out of this ok and just lead a lawful life.”
In the wake of his latest arrest, the judge in that case ordered him to be held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.