Woman accused of stealing from widow
ADAMS TWP — An Ohio woman stands accused of burglarizing an elderly widow's home and stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry — some of which she and her husband allegedly sold.
Adams Township police said they suspect Raini D. Perry, 28, of Proctorville, revisited the same home the next day without the victim's knowledge and returned some of the jewelry, telling investigators she “felt bad.”
She and Matthew W. Perry, 53, of Chesapeake, remain in Butler County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail each since their arrests on Sunday.
Raini Perry was arraigned Monday by District Judge Lewis Stoughton on charges of burglary, two counts of trespass, theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy, all felonies. Matthew Perry was arraigned on felony charges of receiving stolen property and conspiracy.
A preliminary hearing for the couple is set for Tuesday before District Judge Wayne Seibel in Evans City.
Patrolman Randy Ruediger said he suspected Raini Perry first entered the Valley Brook Drive home Aug. 8, apparently while her husband was outside meeting with the 88-year-old victim to discuss a roof repair project.
Matthew Perry at the time was believed to be working for a roofing contractor.
Ruediger said the victim lives alone, and told investigators she left the back door open when she talked with Matthew Perry outside.
The following day, Aug. 9, the woman discovered items — many gold and diamond pieces — missing from a jewelry box in her bedroom. Some costume jewelry was also among the 30 or so missing items.
Ruediger estimated the value of the stolen property between $8,000 and $10,000.
A check of the Western Pennsylvania precious metals database, he said, found that Raini Perry sold jewelry Aug. 8 at a Pittsburgh gold store, and Matthew Perry sold jewelry that same day at a store in Cranberry Township.
The couple received about $1,200, Ruediger said. On Sunday, police showed the victim photos from the database of that jewelry. She identified most of the property as hers.
That same day, Ruediger said, police found the defendants at the Treesdale housing plan in the township, where Matthew Perry was working on a roofing job. His wife was sleeping in a pickup truck.The suspects were detained. While being placed in a police car, Raini Perry, according to charging documents, admitted she “is responsible for the burglary and that her husband did not know.”Ruediger said that a consent search of the truck where police found Raini Perry turned up a bag containing about a dozen pieces of the alleged stolen jewelry.During an interview at the police station, investigators said Raini Perry admitted taking jewelry while the victim was outside and then selling some of it.She also revealed that the day after taking the property, she returned to the victim's home “to place jewelry back in the box as she felt bad,” according to charging documents.Ruediger noted the suspected “returned jewelry” was of the costume variety.He said he did not know how Raini Perry entered the home the second time, but the homeowner acknowledged that she was outside that day.In his police interview, Matthew Perry allegedly admitted taking jewelry from his wife and selling it, using his identification, according to charging documents.Online court records did not indicate if either defendant has an attorney.
