Moment brazen Miami thief takes a tourist's Gucci bag containing Gucci wallet, $1,200 in cash and $4,000 Cartier glasses while the victim ate at a restaurant

A brazen thief snatched a designer bag from a Puerto Rican tourist as she dined at a Miami restaurant before spending nearly $2,000 of the victim's money.

Marisoll Hernandez, 60, was out to dinner with a friend Friday evening when a woman walked up behind her and her Gucci bag slid off the back of her chair.

Hernandez, a chef and writer, was visiting from San Juan to promote her book Enamorada. After attending book signings in Coral Gables, she continued her trip for a few more days to spend time with friends in Miami.

She and a friend were deep in conversation while waiting for their food at Toscana Divino, an upscale Italian restaurant, when a woman in a fuchsia dress walked by.

The woman stared at her phone, reached out and grabbed Hernandez's Gucci bag from the back of the chair, in a moment captured on CCTV.

In a shocking moment captured on CCTV, a woman in a fuchsia dress walked up behind Hernandez and slid her Gucci bag off the back of her chair before walking away.

The chef and author, pictured with the same Gucci bag, was in town to promote her book Enamorada. Inside the stolen bag was a Gucci wallet containing a credit card, $1,200 in cash and a pair of Cartier glasses that she said were worth almost $4,000.

Hernandez, still grinning, didn't even notice she had been robbed.

“They took my things, you know – they're material things, but they're still yours,” the author told NBC6. “You feel frustrated.”

Earlier that day, Hernandez had posted a photo on Instagram with the same Gucci bag slung over her shoulder.

Inside the bag was a Gucci wallet with a credit card, $1,200 cash and a pair of Cartier glasses that she said were worth almost $4,000.

She was alerted that the suspect had used her credit card to make purchases totaling nearly $1,800.

“The person went shopping that night and had fun with my money and my credit cards,” Hernandez said.

She was able to track the bag thanks to an AirTag, which pinged into an apartment building, but police were unable to retrieve it.

A court order was required before officers could enter the building and go door to door, according to Mike Vega, spokesman for the Miami Police Department.

The suspect then went shopping and paid $1,800 in Hernandez money using her credit card

The author was able to locate the bag using an AirTag, but police needed a court order before searching the apartment complex where the bag was found

Police say the suspect is suspected of theft. To qualify under Florida law, the value of the stolen property must exceed the state's minimum legal criteria of $300

The theft was part of a series of similar crimes — earlier this month, South Miami police asked the public for help identifying two men who took a purse from an elderly woman in December

The charges included in the police report are theft, purse snatching and fraudulent practices.

According to police, the suspect is facing theft charges because the value of the stolen property exceeds the state's minimum legal criteria of $300.

The incident comes amid a wave of similar crimes. Earlier this month, South Miami police asked the public for help identifying two men who stole an elderly woman's purse the weekend before Christmas.

CCTV footage showed the men entering a restaurant and going to the bar to observe victims. One of the men took off his jacket, covered the woman's bag and took it with him as they left.

The victim said the bag was worth about $8,000. The men also made off with documents, cash and credit cards, which they used shortly afterwards.

“I believe they've done this before,” said Sgt. Fernando Bosch told CBS News. “They are organized and know what they are doing.”

Hernandez fell victim to one of the first purse robbers of the month; nothing had been reported on January 7.

“I know I can't get my stuff back – money is money, credit cards are credit cards,” she said. “It will be resolved, but I really want justice.”