With the help of a surveillance video, police investigators were able to piece together the gastric mystery of a $4,000 engagement ring that vanished at the jewelry counter of a Macy's department store in Sandy, Utah.
Confused staffers couldn't explain how a genuine diamond ring had been switched for a phony. Under police interrogation, the clever con artist admitted that she consumed the real one, let it pass through her system, and pawned it for $600.
Police Sgt. Jon Arnold told ABC 4 that 38-year-old Angela Winters Hardman had been trying on an engagement ring on May 13 with the assistance of a store clerk when the ring seemed to get stuck on her finger. The clerk tried unsuccessfully to loosen the ring by using water and lotion.
Arnold said that Hardman apparently was waiting for a moment of distraction in order to pull the switch. It was not a coincidence that when the clerk looked away briefly, Hardman finally was able to slip the ring from her finger. When she handed it back, the clerk noticed right away that it was a fake.
Hardman was detained at the store, but security officers couldn't find the ring when they searched the suspect. They filled out a report, but lacking any hard evidence, they had to let her go.
When Sandy police investigators were called in to review the store's surveillance video, it was very apparent that Hardman reached into her pocket and put her hand to her mouth before returning the fake ring to the store employee.
During an interview with detectives several days later, Hardman admitted that she had consumed the ring and waited for the "natural digestive process" to occur before pawning the ring for $600.
On Monday, she was charged with felony retail theft. The charge carries up to five years in prison.
Momma always told us to eat our carrots (carats), but this is ridiculous.
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