VENTURA COUNTY — During the first weeks of the New Year, an Ojai homeowner who employed 52-year-old Ventura resident Tami Swim to clean her home discovered a number of expensive jewelry items missing from the premises and immediately suspected Swim of the thefts.
Following up on her suspicions, the victim notified Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Ojai Substation detectives of the alleged crime, and investigation ensued that revealed a serious lack of any evidence connecting Swim to the thievery.
Apparently the victim told a story of sufficient credibility that, according to VCSD spokesman Sgt. R. Harwood, detectives “began investigating this case and worked with the victim.”
They worked with the victim to the extent that they crafted a plot to lure Swim back to the victim’s home with an offer of additional work cleaning the residence.
Swim apparently took the bait and on January 25th, detectives observed Swim approaching the home and detained her before she could gain entry.
At that point, Swim was determined to be “in possession of two pieces of jewelry that had been stolen from the victim” during the period of time reported by the victim.
Obviously feeling fairly confident that her earlier theft would never be detected, at the time of her contact by detectives when she was responding to an offer for housecleaning work, she was wearing a diamond pendant valued at $12,000 and was in possession of a diamond ring valued at $7,000.
It didn’t take long for detectives to do the math, and Swim was arrested and transported to Ventura County Jail and booked there for grand theft, while both purloined items were returned to their rightful owner.
When Swim was approached by detectives wearing her baubles, she was in the company of another Ventura resident, John Schertzer, 52, who was determined to be under the influence of a controlled substance, in possession of drug paraphernalia, and in possession of methamphetamine, all crimes for which he was soon after charged upon his booking at Ventura County Jail.
