More than $15000 in jewelry recovered; woman charged - Crossville Chronicle
Jewelry valued at $15,350 was reported stolen — and recovered — and a person hired to clean a local business has been arrested in connection with the theft, according to reports filed by the Crossville Police Department.
April M. Swallows, 41, 25 Rabbit Hill Dr., is charged with one count of felony theft of property of more than $10,000. She was booked at the Justice Center and released under bond with an appearance in General Sessions Court scheduled.
Police were called to Progressive Bank off N. Main St., on Nov. 3 and were told that several pieces of jewelry — rings and earrings — were taken from an employee’s desk where they had been kept, according to Ptl. Joel Stevens’ report.
Police investigation revealed that only three persons had access to the bank over night — a security person and two persons hired to clean the bank at night.
One of the cleaning persons — who has a full time day job — was picked up by Stevens and taken to the police department for an interview by Det. Jason Wilson. That person suggested that the jewelry might have ended up in trash bags accidentally during the cleaning of the bank. The suspect also said trash bags from that night could be found in three different locations.
Police traveled to Dooley St. to search trash bags in the suspect’s vehicle parked at her place of fulltime employment, and also traveled to Cookeville to search trash bags there. The investigation finally led police to the home of the suspect’s mother off Wayne Ave. where jewelry and boxes the jewelry was kept in were recovered. The suspect was then told police had recovered the stolen jewelry, to which she responded that police must have “planted” the rings where they were found.
The woman was then arrested and her cell phone seized by investigators for the purpose of obtaining a search warrant as the investigation continues.
