By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A felony charge accusing a Perkins man of stealing about $8,000 worth of gold jewelry from a Perkins man’s house that he cleaned while he was employed by Merry Maids was amended Thursday to exploitation of an elderly person on May 27, court records show.
Luis Fernando Miramontes, 50, who was arrested at a fast-food restaurant in Guthrie on June 3, remained in jail Thursday on $6,000 bail pending a July 6 court appearance at which he could seek a preliminary hearing.
The victim’s jewelry, described as a man’s gold wedding band with four to five diamonds valued at $2,500 to $3,000, a custom gold ring with a large diamond worth about $5,000, and a gold chain worth about $500, had not been located at the time the felony charge was filed on June 3, court records show.
Perkins Police Chief Bob Ernst said, “We are continuing to work this case to locate victims that have had jewelry stolen.
“Most people don’t look in their jewelry boxes every day, so there are probably people out there that don’t realize there has been a theft — until they look for a specific item and realize it is missing.”
In this case, the victim said he “took his wedding band off at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic due to washing his hands more frequently (March of 2020). He placed the wedding band in the jewelry box.
“Towards the end of May of 2020 he decided he wanted to wear his wedding band and found it missing. That is when he noticed the other items missing,” Perkins Police Officer Billy Laster wrote in an affidavit.
The victim “believed the only people who could have taken the jewelry were employees of Merry Maids,” since no one else had been allowed in his home during the Covid-19 pandemic until the theft was reported to Perkins Police Sgt. Kyle Howard on May 27, the affidavit said.
At the request of Perkins police, the owner of the Merry Maids office in Stillwater provided dates that the victim’s house was cleaned and the names of three employees who had cleaned the house, the affidavit said.
“These three people were contacted and interviews were scheduled,” but Miramontes failed to show for his interview on May 30, who was then called by the investigating officer, the affidavit said.
“When I asked about his interview, Luis Miramontes stated he figured out what happened,” and claimed he vacuumed up the jewelry, a ring with a red stone and a necklace that he said were in the Merry Maids office, Laster wrote in his affidavit.
“Miramontes said he was going to clean the house on Monday, and he was going to give the property back to the owners. I requested he bring the property to the police department on May 30, which he did not do,” Laster wrote in his affidavit.
When Miramontes went to work on June 1, he placed two rings and a necklace on the owner’s desk, both of which appeared to be costume jewelry, the affidavit alleged.
Sgt. Howard requested a list of houses that Miramontes had cleaned for Merry Maids, which the business owner refused to provide, the affidavit alleged.
When the jewelry was shown to the victim in this case, he said it was not his, the affidavit said.
The items were placed in Perkins police property, since they possibly belonged to another victim, the affidavit said.
During the investigation, Perkins police learned that Miramontes’ sister had 59 transactions at pawn shops in Stillwater, the affidavit said.
“When confronted with the transactions report, she admitted to selling jewelry for Luis Miramontes because he does not have a valid identification. She also described Miramontes as a flight risk and said he would go to OKC to take a bus to California where his mother lives,” the affidavit alleged.
Perkins police learned than an associate of Miramontes drove him to Carl’s Jr. at I-35 and Highway 33 in Guthrie, where he was arrested, the affidavit said.
“Chief Ernst and I questioned Miramontes about the jewelry thefts and Miramontes said numerous times he did not remember,” Laster wrote in his affidavit.
During the interview, “Miramontes admitted to stealing jewelry while employed at Merry Maids. Numerous times he said jewelry was sucked into vacuums. He also said he would put jewelry in the work bag (where supplies are kept) and take the items from houses,” the affidavit alleged.
“When asked why he stole, he said he wanted a better life and he needed the money for a better life. He said he also needed money to pay off a $1,700 arrest warrant in California for a prior DUI charge,” but Miramontes would not tell police what happened to the victim’s jewelry, the affidavit alleged.
“At the time of Miramontes’ arrest, he was found to be in possession of $1,892. He had an additional $84 that was all in $2 bills found in his back pack. In Miramontes’ possession, we located numerous coins which appeared to be part of a coin collection, a pouch with the name George Berry, a handheld police scanner, a CO2 air pistol, a pre-paid Visa Mastercard, cell phone with battery pack, a plastic box of coins and a gold chain with a coin pendant,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
“Miramontes admitted he stole the gold chain with coin pendant at a house in Perkins,” but would not give the name of the owner, the affidavit alleged.
“When asked about going to Guthrie, Miramontes admitted he wanted to get out of here because he knew he was in trouble. He admitted he was going to flee to California to see his mother,” the affidavit alleged.
After his arrest, Miramontes was allowed to take his backpack, but the contents were placed in police custody “in an attempt to locate the rightful owners,” the affidavit said.
***
