Lakeland cleaning lady accused of ‘cleaning out’ more customers and pawning their stolen jewelry
Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office
MULBERRY, Fla. - A Facebook post from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office about a cleaning lady who was accused of stealing thousands of dollars of jewelry from a customer’s home led her to be re-arrested after another customer saw the post online, searched her home and realized her $2500 ring was missing.
The backstory:
Ashley Hernandez, 31, was arrested last month following an investigation that began when a customer told deputies that she believed Hernandez stole nearly $12,000 worth of her jewelry during three cleaning visits between December and February.
During the investigation, the victim reported that other people accused Hernandez of similar theft on social media.
A friend of the victim, who also used Hernandez’s cleaning services, confirmed that items totaling $350 were missing from her Brandon home, according to PCSO.
Deputies said they found several of the stolen pieces at Quick Cash Liquidators and some of the jewelry had already been sold or melted down.
READ: Man convicted of 1991 fatal shooting of police officer is set to be executed in Florida
According to PCSO, Hernandez, who is accused of stealing $12,180 in jewelry, had taken part in 12 separate fraudulent pawn transactions.
Hernandez was arrested and charged with dealing in stolen property, providing false owner information to a pawnbroker, and theft from a person 65 years or older.
Dig deeper:
News of Hernandez’s arrest was posted on the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page and sent out in a press release.
On February 24, a Mulberry woman contacted PCSO after seeing the Facebook post and told investigators that she hired Hernandez to clean her home three times on January 26, February 13 and February 23.
The Mulberry woman said she searched her home and noticed a white-gold ring that she kept in a small jewelry dish next to the bathroom sink was missing.
Investigators said the woman positively identified the ring as property recovered by PCSO at Quick Cash Liquidators, where investigators say Hernandez had completed 12 separate fraudulent pawn transactions.
According to PCSO, the owner of the pawn shop provided the receipt for the pawned stolen ring that was signed by Hernandez on January 28.
Investigators said the receipt included a copy of her identification and her right thumbprint.
Hernandez was arrested on charges of dealing in stolen property, providing false owner information to a pawnbroker, scheme to defraud, and grand theft.
By the numbers:
According to PCSO, this is Hernandez’s third arrest since February 18.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office got a warrant for her arrest in its grand theft case, and she was picked up on that warrant by PCSO deputies on February 26.
What they're saying:
"We would be willing to bet there are more victims out there. In fact, we arrested her on the 18 of February, she bonded out of jail on the 21 and cleaned this new victim's home for a third time on the 23. If Ashley cleaned your home, she may have cleaned you out. Please check your valuables and contact us if you suspect she did the same to you."
What's next:
She still has pending charges in Hillsborough County.
The Source: This article was written with information provided by the Polk County Sheriff's Office in a press release and previous FOX 13 News reports.