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SALT LAKE CITY — A 30-year-old Salt Lake woman is facing felony charges after allegedly dressing up as a man to steal from her neighbors.
Police say a couple living near Downingtown Avenue and 1700 East gave their neighbor, Manar Ahmad, a key to their home in June 2009 so the woman could house-sit for them.
In a box in the home, the couple kept more than $23,000 in cash. Between June 2009 and April 2011, somewhere between $7,000 and $8,000 was taken from the box, leaving around $16,000, according to charges filed in 3rd District Court. By June, the couple determined that only $7,000 remained in the box.
The couple put the remainder of the money in the bank, but purchased a security camera and left some "bait money" in the box in hopes of catching the thief. Ahmad went out of town between June 8 and Sept. 4 and none of the money went missing during that time, the charges state.
However, on Sept. 6, $95 was discovered missing, prompting the couple to look at their surveillance video. The video showed what "appeared to be a woman disguised as a man" dressed in an "oversized men's suit, a beanie cap pulled down low over the forehead and what appears to be a fake mustache" taking money from the box, according to the charges.
The couple believed the thief entered the home with a key and the wife stated that she believed it was Ahmad who was taking the money.
Ahmad consented to a search of her home. Officers reported finding a suit and beanie matching the ones seen in the surveillance video in addition to "a fake black mustache with some adhesive on it," the charges state. The couple's house key was also located.
Ahmad was charged with two counts of burglary and one count of theft, all second-degree felonies.
Email:emorgan@ksl.com
