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Inset: Kayla Conner (Flagler County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The suburban residence where Conner is alleged to have stolen several debit cards in Palm Coast, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida woman is behind bars after stealing from one of her customers who used her maid services, Sunshine State police say.
Kayla Conner, aged 38, faces numerous charges related to fraud and theft. These include one count each of picking a pocket valued between $300 and less than $10,000 from an individual aged 65 or older, dealing in or trafficking stolen property, grand theft from a building, providing false ownership verification, and grand theft of items from a residence or its surrounding area, as reported by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The defendant is also accused of a probation violation, jail records show.
“Homeowners hire cleaning services to maintain the cleanliness of their homes, not to have their valuables taken,” remarked Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly in a press statement. “Due to the swift actions of our detectives, this thief is now incarcerated where she belongs. We remain committed to returning the stolen items to their rightful possessors.”
Authorities were first alerted to the situation on August 25 when a man reported that a bracelet, once owned by his recently deceased wife, was missing, as per a charging affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
The widower further noted that some form of identification and debit cards, belonging to his late wife, had vanished from his home on Charles Court in Palm Coast, a small town located about 60 miles southeast of Jacksonville.
Upon checking their joint financial accounts, he discovered 11 unrecognized transactions, including four conducted via Venmo, amounting to a total exceeding $650.
The homeowner quickly apprised investigators of his suspicions about the defendant — saying she was a maid with the cleaning company that had cleaned his home three days prior. Conner, he said, was in the master bedroom where all the stolen items were previously located “throughout their cleaning,” according to the affidavit. And, in perhaps telltale fashion, the Venmo transactions were addressed to a user named “Kayla,” the charging document alleges.
On Sept. 23, Conner sat down for an interview in a probation office with a deputy from the sheriff’s office. During the interview, the defendant disclaimed any responsibility for the thefts and suggested her boss — who also took part in the Charles Court address cleaning — was to blame, according to the affidavit.
Authorities say she also provided her cellphone and an access code — while insisting investigators would not find any evidence linking her to any of the disputed transactions on the device.
But Conner allegedly provided the incorrect passcode.
Later that same day, a man identified as Conner’s boyfriend called the deputy to discuss the case, according to the charging document.
“[The boyfriend] said he reamed Kayla out all the way home because he suspected she was responsible for the theft but now he believes her and like Conner, suspects [the defendant’s boss] was responsible,” the affidavit reads. “I let him know that I hoped he was right, but I did not suspect that was the case, in fact the passcode that Kayla provided me was wrong.”
The deputy says the boyfriend then relayed the phone call to Conner. The defendant then called the deputy herself and again provided the same incorrect passcode, according to the charging document.
“I further informed [the boyfriend] that I had multiple subpoenas out with Venmo and Chewy.com that I am waiting to be returned,” the affidavit goes on. “If Chewy delivered product to Kayla or her mom, that wouldn’t be good news for her. [The boyfriend] said Kayla got rid of her Venmo account, and that her mother has a Chewy.com account. I advised that Kayla’s phone would likely show her innocence or guilt, and that I would get back to him as soon as possible concerning her phone.”
On Sept. 25, another customer of the cleaning service left a voicemail reporting suspected thefts – this time of multiple pieces of gold and jewelry, according to the sheriff’s office. And, again, the victim suspected Conner was the person responsible, according to the charging document.
The deputy the used an online search tool to discover the defendant had “multiple recent pawn transactions,” according to the affidavit. Investigators determined Conner had netted $620 from selling several pieces of jewelry in late August.
On Sept. 30, the deputy provided photos of some of the pawned jewelry — taken at the pawn shop — to the widower who initially called about the suspected thefts. The man “quickly recognized his deceased wife’s” missing charm bracelet, according to the charging document.
Conner was arrested later that same day.
The defendant is currently detained in the Flagler County Jail on $5,000 bond. She is slated to be arraigned on Nov. 4.