Carson City authorities arrest man suspected of stealing jewelry for drug habit
Submitted by editor on Wed, 09/22/2010 - 2:10am
Carson City authorities nabbed a man on Monday suspected of stealing $10,000 worth of jewelry from a woman who hired the 23-year-old to do maintenance work around her home on Friday.
With agreement from the victim, officers hid in a closet when they learned the suspect, Kyle Canyon Curtis, had asked to return to the home, in the 2900 block of Poole Lane, presumably to finish the job.
Instead, officers hid in a bedroom closet where they saw Curtis go through the woman's nightstand after he asked to use the bathroom, according to the arrest report. The victim had contacted authorities on Sunday, advising them of the theft, the suspect and the circumstances.
According to the arrest report, the victim told authorities that Curtis came to her home to do some maintenance work on Friday. She informed officers that Curtis had asked her if he could use the bathroom and she allowed him inside the home. Curtis returned within minutes, and then left the home without performing any work, telling the victim that he would be back later. Instead, he never returned. The woman later discovered jewelry was missing and called authorities.
On Monday the victim called authorities again after discovering additional jewelry was missing. She also said she received a phone call from Curtis who wanted to come over to work.
Officer Don Gibson arrived at the home and asked the victim to go ahead and invite Curtis over, and if she agreed, he and Deputy Gary Denham would hide in the woman's bedroom closet when Curtis arrived. The victim agreed to the request.
A short time later the officers in hiding heard a man's voice in the home and the voice asking if he could use the bathroom. Curtis used the bathroom and then was observed going into the victim's bedroom, opening a nightstand drawer and sweeping his hand through it. Nothing was seen in his hands as he pulled them from the drawer, according to the arrest report.
Moments later, when the man went outside, the victim came into the bedroom and confirmed the suspect was Curtis, who was then waiting for her in the garage.
The officers then walked out to the garage and contacted Curtis, who denied knowing anything about missing jewelry and stated he didn't steal from the victim, according to the arrest report. He indicated he was only in the house to use the bathroom. Gibson then told Curtis that he watched as he entered the bedroom and opened the drawer. Curtis then admitted to this, stating he didn't have an excuse.
Curtis was placed into handcuffs. He then asked to speak with the victim. She came to the garage at which time Curtis apologized for taking her jewelry. He told her he would try to get her jewelry back and told her that the reason he stole from her was because he was a drug addict. He then begged the victim not to pursue charges against him. The victim denied this request and asked that charges be filed on him.
Once in custody, Deputy Gibson asked Curtis if he would assist officers in locating the jewelry. He would not state what he did with the pieces, according to the arrest report.
The victim stated she is missing three gold rings with diamonds and a gold bracelet valued at about $10,000. A records check revealed Curtis had a confirmed felony warrant for burglary out of East Fork Township, and he was subsequently booked on this warrant along with the grand larceny charge. Bail was set at $25,000.
— The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
