Jewelry stolen off of elderly woman's hand in nursing home, police say

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - Rings with priceless sentimental value were stolen right off an elderly woman’s hands at her nursing home, according to Winter Garden Police.  

“At first, I was completely beside myself that this would happen,” said John Martin, the victim’s son.  

Martin said he got a call from the nursing station at Quality Health Care in Winter Garden where his mom lives.  

“They first asked if my mom had any rings. And I told them yes. She has two gold rings and I gave them a description. I said ‘why are you asking that?’ He said ‘because your mother is here accusing one of our workers of having taking her rings,’” Martin said. 

Martin rushed to the nursing home finding his mother upset, her jewelry gone. He says she told him that the certified nurse’s assistant who delivered her breakfast snatched her rings.  

“I need to take these rings off to get them cleaned for you. Your son wants me to take care of that for you,” Martin says his mom told him.  “Apparently my mom said he didn’t mention anything about that to me.”

Police were called in, and Martin’s 88-year-old mom detailed to officers what happened.  

“She forcibly took the two rings off. One off each hand and I guess a few minutes passed and my mom went out the nurse’s station and said hey I need my rings back,” Martin said.

The ring on the left is Olga Martin’s wedding right.  The ring on the right, “was given from my grandfather to my grandmother 70 years ago,” Martin said.  

He explained that it was the only valuable that Olga’s parents were able to smuggle into the country when they migrated over from Cuba. 

“That in and of itself was kind of a miracle. Years ago in the early years when you left Cuba, they would collect any jewelry that you had,” Martin explained.

Winter Garden PD tracked down the rings at a pawn shop in Polk County.  Investigators say the woman who pawned them is the CNA from the nursing home who Olga said took the rights right off her fingers, 30-year-old Jakovee Gray.  She’s now being held on a $15,000 bond at the Orange County Jail on grand theft and exploitation of the elderly charges.

Investigators returning the beloved family jewels to the martins.  Olga is no longer wearing them every day.  Her family is fearful of something happening to them again.

“I bring the rings so she can wear it while I visit her,” Martin said.