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A Palm Bay woman has been arrested and charged after police say she exploited an elderly man.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Palm Bay Police Department, 45-year-old Rebecca Sue Flannery is accused of stealing several items of jewelry about Nov. 1 from a man she was hired to give hospice care. The jewelry, according to the man's wife, was valued at more than $10,000.
Police later discovered several pieces of jewelry in pawn shops that matched the description. They found that the customer received $350 for a wedding ring valued at $3,000, $310 for earrings valued at $3,100 and $400 for a man's ring valued at $3,500.
The affidavit states that Flannery confessed in an audio-recorded non-custodial statement to working for the family as a caregiver and stealing jewelry twice from the family and pawning it off at two Palm Bay shops.
Flannery faces one count of abuse/neglect/exploitation of an elderly person, two counts of grand theft from a person over 65 years of age, three counts of dealing in stolen property and three counts of false verification of ownership.
Detectives also believe there may be additional victims. They ask that anyone with information contact Palm Bay Police Department Detective Jess Suelter through the department's Communication Center at 321-952-3539.
Contact Bonanno at 321-242-3662, cbonanno@floridatoday.com or follow him @FTChrisBonanno.