Cuban woman arrested for leaving hair salon in Miami without paying

Nov 02, 2024

The 37-year-old woman is facing charges of third-degree theft and assault. "She dyed her hair black so she wouldn't be recognized," said the salon owner.

CiberCuba Editorial Team

January 11, 2024 - 8:49 AM (GMT-5)

A Cuban woman who sparked a scandal at a hair salon in Miami last September after refusing to pay for a hair extension service was arrested on Wednesday.

After a 54-day search, the Sweetwater Police (Little Managua) announced the arrest of 37-year-old Heidys Guzmán in the area of 67th Avenue and Flagler Street.

The woman now has a completely different appearance from what she had on September 6, the day of the incident. Instead of being blonde, she dyed her extensions black that she stole.

“She dyed her hair black so they wouldn’t recognize her; at least she didn’t get to enjoy the pretty blonde color she had,” said the owner of the hair salon to Telemundo 51.

"We don't know if he did it to hide a little more, to change his identity; one thing he forgot to change was the tattoo on his neck that helped us identify him as the same person," said Álvaro Zabaleta, spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police, to America TeVe.

Heidy is now facing charges of third-degree robbery and assault.

On Thursday, she appeared in bail court, where the judge ordered her to stay away from the beauty salon and its owner. She was subjected to a bail of $3,500, but she is still unable to leave prison because there is an outstanding arrest warrant for a prior felony case.

The incident occurred at Yanka's Hair Extensions salon, located at 10780 W Flagler St, Miami.

The woman underwent an exclusive treatment consisting of 80 pieces of 24-inch hair extensions, at a total cost of $1,195, which took about four hours.

But at the time of payment, she presented a bank statement instead of a physical card or cash. The owner of the establishment, Yanka Castillo, explained to her that she could not accept that method of payment, which led to a discussion that escalated to the owner trying to remove the client's extensions, but the client resisted, pushed her, and left.

Castillo sprayed him with pepper spray, but he was unable to prevent his escape.

Part of the exchange was recorded by the store's surveillance cameras.

After learning about the arrest of the Cuban woman, the victim expressed her gratitude to the police.

"I am not happy because I never take pleasure in anyone's misfortune, but I feel at peace (...) and I am glad that she is facing the consequences of her actions," she said.

"Stop harming people (...) change that way of life," he emphasized.

The businesswoman revealed that she has enhanced security at the hair salon. "I have bars, security cameras, and my self-defense; let’s hope everything remains peaceful, as it always has been," she detailed.

She also reported that her peace of mind has been affected and that she now believes everyone is out to hurt her. "I tell clients a higher amount now; you have to pay me half upfront, and that impacts my business."

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