Crime & Safety
Housekeeper Charged with Stealing from Elderly Oconee Man
Nearly $17,000 worth of sterling silver flatware and jewelry were reported stolen from a Laurel Place residence. An arrest does not mean a conviction.
An Athens woman, who has reportedly been working as part of a house cleaning team, is charged with stealing from an elderly Oconee County client.
According to an incident report on file at the Oconee County Sheriff's Office, a resident of a home on Laurel Place told deputies on Aug. 24 silver flatware including nine dinner forks, four iced tea spoons, 13 salad forks, three sugar shells, two tablespoons, 20 teaspoons and two soup ladles valued at $15,430 had been stolen. Also taken was a pair of diamond earrings and a gold ring, collectively worth $2,500.
The 75-year-old victim said a woman who had been cleaning his house every Friday for the last several months was last there on July 27.
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On Aug. 29, deputies charged Jennifer Gail Sanders, 44 of Candler Court with theft by taking and exploitation of disabled or elder persons.
Athens-Clarke County authorities are investigating Sanders' involvement in similar cases there, the incident report notes.
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According to an article in the Athens-Banner Herald, there are also theft reports under investigation in Madison County.
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