Stole a key — and emptied the room: the sophisticated scam at a hotel in the center
A resident of Ramat Gan, aged about 50, is suspected of stealing hotel room cards from guests and emptying their rooms of jewelry and money. The police claimed she was dangerous: "The method is sophisticated" — but the court decided to release her to house arrest.
A resident of Ramat Gan, aged about 50, was arrested on suspicion of using a sophisticated method to enter hotel guests' rooms and stealing property worth thousands of shekels. The police requested to extend her detention by five days, but the court decided to release her to house arrest.
A few days ago, a complaint was received at the Bnei Brak police station, indicating that the suspect arrived at a hotel in Ramat Gan, made contact with several guests, and managed to steal their room cards. Afterward, according to the suspicion, she entered their rooms and stole valuable property, including cash and jewelry. Following the complaint, the suspect was arrested and, at the end of her interrogation, was detained.
The suspect was brought yesterday to a hearing for the extension of her detention at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court. At the hearing, the police representative, Staff Sergeant Yitzhak Har-Tov, requested to extend her detention by five days. The police representative clarified that at this stage, the suspicion relates to three different women, and that there are significant investigative actions that still need to be carried out, alongside a fear of obstruction of justice.
"Sophisticated crime"
According to the police, the complainants stayed at the same hotel, and the thefts occurred in close proximity on the same day. It was further noted that some of the property was seized, but several gold items have not yet been located, and the value of the stolen property is estimated at thousands of shekels. The police representative said at the hearing:
"The court should not take this lightly. There is someone here who committed a crime in a sophisticated manner."
On the other hand, the suspect's defense attorney, Adv. Marina Gladky, argued that there is no cause for arrest in this case. During the cross-examination of the police representative, the defense raised the suspect's version, according to which she stayed in a room booked for her by another person. The police representative confirmed that this is what the suspect stated in her interrogation, but noted that the person in question has not yet been checked, and that in her interrogation, she said she does not remember the incident. Later, the defense attorney argued that the evidence does not justify continued detention.
Judge Tzipora Moshe determined that there is an evidentiary basis as well as grounds for arrest concerning danger and fear of obstruction of justice. However, after hearing the defense attorney's arguments regarding the evidence, the suspect's personal circumstances, the manner in which she became involved in the incident, and the taking of medication and its effect on her behavior, the judge determined that the danger could be mitigated through an alternative to detention, and ordered her release to house arrest for six days.
