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Former worker at Edmond retirement center is charged with stealing from resident

Jennifer K. Lases, 40, of Yukon, is accused of taking $600 in cash and a credit card out of a purse belonging to an 89-year-old resident of an assisted living center where she worked, and buying nearly $325 worth of gift cards with the stolen card.

By Tim Willert | Published: November 30, 2012

“We're really disheartened that this would happen to one of our residents,” said Carly Ridgeway, area operations manager for Copper Lake Estates and two retirement communities in Texas.

Lases had been suspended without pay since police began investigating the theft, Ridgeway said, adding that the incident was isolated.

“It's been a shock for all of us,” she said.

Several Copper Lake employees, including Ridgeway, were interviewed by police, and identified Lases as the person seen in a pharmacy video using the victim's credit card to make two purchases on Sept. 12, according to the affidavit.

Lases denied stealing from the patient, and told detectives “I would never do something like that,” and “I don't remember.” She did, however, identify herself when detectives showed her a still photo from the video.

Lases is not in custody. She could not be reached for comment.

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