News Release from: Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office

Sheriff's Office arrests caregiver on charges of stealing from elderly patient; tips sought

Posted: Sept. 16, 2011, 8:23 a.m.

Photo: Veronica Marie Wilson

Please reference Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Case #11-27631

On Sept. 15, 2011 at 11:45 a.m., Veronica Marie Wilson, age 47, of Portland, was arrested in Wilsonville on charges of Criminal Mistreatment I and Theft II. This arrest follows a joint investigation by the Wilsonville Police Department and the Portland Police Bureau. Wilson was lodged at the Clackamas County Jail, with bail set at $22,500.
 
Veronica Wilson was employed at The Wilsonville Senior Living Community as a caregiver. It is alleged that she took property from a person of diminished capacity who lived at the center and then pawned it in the City of Portland.

According to Det. Jeff Green with the Wilsonville Police, Veronica Wilson had passed a background check prior to her employment at The Wilsonville Senior Living Community. At the time of her arrest, Mrs. Wilson was terminated and is no longer employed at the center.
 
Wilson came to the attention of Portland Police Bureau Officer Jordan Zaitz earlier in the month. Officer Zaitz noticed an unusually high number of recorded pawns involving Wilson -- Wilson had pawned more than 50 items in the last 5-1/2 months.

Officer Zaitz had been assigned to the PPB Pawn Detail at the time. She was able to determine Wilson was employed at The Wilsonville Senior Living Community and then contacted Detective Green.

Detective Green -- working with Officer Zaitz and PPB Detective Thanh Nguyen -- was able to determine that a bracelet with specific characteristics had been pawned by Wilson. The bracelet belonged to an elderly resident of The Wilsonville Senior Living Community who suffers from an age-related degenerative brain disease that results in a diminished capacity.
 
Working together, the two agencies positively identified the bracelet with the help of a family member of the victim.
 
Detective Green will be working closely with the administrators of The Wilsonville Senior Living Community in an attempt to identify more possible victims. There is a large amount of outstanding jewelry yet to be identified.

The Wilsonville Police Department is interested in any and all information and tips regarding the case.

TIPS SOUGHT

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is seeking tips and information regarding this crime.

Anyone with information concerning this crime is encouraged to contact the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office's confidential Tip Line -- by telephone at 503-723-4949 or by using the online e-mail form. Please reference Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Case #11-27631.

The public can also submit crime-tip text messages to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office from a cell phone. All users have to do is send a text message to CRIMES (274637 on your phone keypad) -- with the keyword CCSO as the first word in the message body.

Important reminder: Please do not send emergency messages using the text-messaging system -- in case of an emergency, call 911.

Please reference Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Case #11-27631.

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Contact Info:
James Rhodes, Sergeant
Office of Public Information
Clackamas County Sheriff's Office