Charges: House Cleaner Stole $17,000 Ring
HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) – A 24-year-old woman is accused of stealing a diamond solitaire ring valued at $17,000 from a Hastings house she was hired to clean, according to charges filed Wednesday in Dakota County District Court.
Ashley Anne Boyer was charged with one felony count of theft in connection with the incident.
According to a criminal complaint, a person identified as A.M.V. had her Hastings home cleaned by Boyer on the morning of Aug. 29.
Later that afternoon, A.M.V. noticed that a diamond solitaire ring she had inherited was missing from its tray in one of the bathrooms of the house. She contacted the cleaning company that Boyer works for about the ring. The company talked to Boyer, who denied taking the ring.
After searching her house, A.M.V. called police about the matter. The complaint states pawn records were searched around the area, and authorities found records that showed on Aug. 29, Boyer pawned a diamond solitaire ring at a pawn shop in St. Paul. Records showed that Boyer redeemed the ring on Sept. 1.
Boyer was interviewed by police on Sept. 23, when she admitted to taking the ring from the bathroom tray and pawning it. She denied redeeming the ring. Authorities said attempts to locate the ring are still ongoing, and it was appraised on July 11 at a value of $17,000.
Boyer faces up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $20,000 for the crime.
