Stuart Police received a report Aug. 18 that two rings belonging to a hospice patient had disappeared shortly before her passing.
Detective David Jacobson searched pawn transaction records and discovered that hospice employee Latoya Morrine Moye, 38, of Fort Pierce, had pawned a diamond ring in Port St. Lucie one day after it was reported missing.
The ring was located, and the victim’s family positively identified it as one of the missing rings. Pawn records and surveillance video confirmed Moye conducted the transaction, police said.
Probable cause was established to charge Moye with third-degree grand theft, and an arrest warrant was issued. Moye was arrested in St. Lucie County.
The second ring remains missing.
The hospice facility cooperated with Stuart police throughout the investigation and is covering the cost of retrieving the ring from the pawn shop so it can be returned to the family.