Nursing home worker arrested after pawning rings stolen from patient’s finger, police say

Suspect told victim she would clean jewelry, records show

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – A worker at a Winter Garden nursing home is facing felony charges after police say she stole rings off the fingers of a patient and sold them to a pawn shop in Haines City.

Jakovee Gray, 30, was booked into the Orange County Jail Wednesday on charges of grand theft and exploitation of the elderly.

According to Winter Garden police, officers were first called to Quality Healthcare on West Colonial Drive Nov. 17 after the 88-year-old patient walked out of her room and began yelling that someone had stolen her rings.

Police said the woman told them a worker came into her room to take a breakfast tray and volunteered to clean her rings. The woman said the worker slid the rings off her fingers and walked away, but she became worried as time passed.

According to an affidavit, the patient later identified the worker as Gray, who denied taking the jewelry.

Gray gave officers permission to search her, but nothing was found, the affidavit said.

As the investigation continued two days later, officers searched a pawn shop database and found Gray pawned two rings at a shop in Haines City.

Officers said they met with the owner, who showed surveillance video of the transaction. The gold wedding band and another gold band with a gemstone attached were later confirmed to be the same rings that belonged to the patient, police said.

A warrant was then issued for Gray’s arrest. She was ordered by a judge to be held on $15,000 bond.


About the Author:

Mark Lehman became a News 6 reporter in July 2014, but he's been a Central Florida journalist and part of the News 6 team for much longer. While most people are fast asleep in their bed, Mark starts his day overnight by searching for news on the streets of Central Florida.

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