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FRENCH CREEK -- An Upshur County woman is behind bars and facing felony charges in three local counties after allegedly stealing from clients of a Buckhannon cleaning service.
Mikela Marie Mitchell, 40, of French Creek, is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on an $80,000 cash-only bond.
She has been charged, in Upshur County, with seven counts of grand larceny and nine counts of burglary, all felonies.
In Barbour County, Mitchell has been charged with three counts of burglary and three counts of grand larceny, all felonies.
In Randolph County, she has been charged with one felony count of fraudulent schemes.
According to the criminal complaint from Upshur County, Corporal Samuel W. Shahan, of the Buckhannon detachment of the West Virginia State Police, received on March 25 a client list of Integrity Cleaning LLC in Buckhannon, and multiple photos of jewelry sold to the Gold Rush business in Bridgeport. Gold Rush employees obtained a copy of Mitchell's driver's license "when the jewelry was sold to them."
Officers learned that "at least nine individuals residing in Upshur County from the client list has various pieces of jewelry and some U.S. Currency missing after Ms. Mitchell cleaned their residence," the complaint states.
During a videotaped interview with an Upshur County deputy, Mitchell allegedly admitted to "removing jewelry from houses she was cleaning and sold it to Gold Rush," the complaint states. She reportedly told officers she "used the money to pay bills and buy groceries."
The Buckhannon detachment complaint states that a total of $70,284 of stolen items was taken from nine homes in Upshur County between Sept. 5 and March 14.
According to the Barbour County criminal complaint, about $17,988 worth of jewelry was taken from one home in Barbour, while about $1,200 in jewelry was taken from another Barbour residence.
The Elkins detachment complaint states that about $15,492 worth of jewelry was taken from one Randolph County home, while about $4,125 of jewelry was taken from another.