Fired Carpet Cleaner Took Out More Than Dirt
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Arlington Resident Gaila Closson knew something was wrong.
"My tennis bracelets were missing," she explained. The jewelry disappeared after a carpet cleaning technician completed work inside her home. "I called the police and I also called his supervisor," she said.
One week after the theft, Arlington Police have issued an arrest warrant for a man who may have stolen jewelry from dozens of carpet cleaning customers.
"He was hired to clean carpets at different locations. While there he takes items," Detective Daisy Blanco said.
Blanco said Stanley Steemer carpet cleaning technician Dalton Poppenger is accused of theft. APD has tied two jewelry thefts from residences to Poppenger, but believe dozens of other unknown victims are in the DFW area.
"His (Poppenger) name is tied to 85 pawn transactions. All of them jewelry," Det. Blanco said. Investigators traced Poppenger's carpet cleaning schedule since January. They've confirmed the cleaning of a home in Azle by Poppenger is tied to a report of missing rings.
"We need the public to contact us. If you used a carpet cleaning company recently please check your valuables, please report if you have any missing jewelry."
That's what Gaila Closson did.
She notified police. She gave detectives the name of the carpet technician printed on her receipt. They found his name on a list at various pawn shops, including the location where one of her items was found.
"You feel violated, You let them into your home to do a service, and you pay them ,and they steal from you."
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