THOMASVILLE — A housekeeper who worked for several residents throughout Thomas County is now facing counts of theft after being turned in by a local business owner. 

On July 13, Nicole Montes, 34, was arrested for three counts of felony theft by taking, two counts of misdemeanor and theft by deception for stealing jewelry from her clients.

Authorities were notified by David Hufstetler, owner of American Pawn, who noticed Montes had pawned an unusual amount of jewelry within the past few months. 

Approximately $2,000 to $2,500 were obtained by Montes from 14-15 transactions made at the Cairo American Pawn and the Thomasville American Pawn. 

Hufstetler and law enforcement identified five of Montes’ clients who fell victim to her stealing.  

“Almost all of the jewelry with two or three exceptions had been tied to a victim and when I say victim, I mean the rightful owners,” Hufsteiler said. 

There were about 40 pieces of stolen jewelry recovered from the two pawn shops.

Capt. Tim Watkins, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office chief investigator, said there are still pieces of jewelry waiting to be claimed.

“There are several pieces of jewelry that have not been claimed by the owner. Not all jewelry has been reported,” he said. 

Hufsteiler said he hopes more victims reveal themselves as Montes’ crimes are uncovered. 

“Me and my employees live here too, and if this person will steal from those people, they’ll just soon steal from us,” he said, “and so we see it as part of our civic duty when we suspect there’s a crime to turn it in. Although we may lose that money, we see it as an investment in order to bring somebody to justice and hopefully get that person some help with whatever problem they need. We think it’s money well spent.”

Montes is currently at the Thomas County Jail and will be arraigned Wednesday afternoon at the Thomas County Magistrate Court.

Watkins said Montes can be sentenced to as much as 30 years in prison.