Woman charged with stealing more than $24,000 worth of valuables during open house in Glendale

GLENDALE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A California woman is now charged with stealing more than $24,000 worth of valuables from a Glendale home during its open house.

Janet Barnes, 50, is accused of stealing jewelry, a family heirloom worth more than $10,000, a watch, an Irish coin, and designer purses from the home on May 20.

Barnes admitted to selling some of the stolen items to Stein’s Jewelry & Loans in Milwaukee and Derzon Coins in West Allis.

Every time Stein’s buys jewelry from a customer they take their thumbprint, get a copy of their ID, and take a picture of the item being sold and put it into a database that can be accessed by police.

“We have all that information available for the officers anytime that they need it,” Bret Eulberg, President of Stein’s Jewelry & Loans, said.

Police used the database, to track down Barnes and the stolen items.

Court documents say Barnes could also be the suspect in several similar incidents in the surrounding area and California, where she is from.

When police arrested her outside Derzon coins on May 31, they recovered 11 rings, 6 bracelets, seven necklaces, several other pieces of jewelry, and realtor business cards from her car.

The owner of Corley Real Estate advises sellers to get valuables out of their home before trying to sell it.

“It’s best to take out any kind of jewelry, anything of value, prescription pills,” Corley said. “Remove them from the premises, ideally. If you can’t, lock them up somewhere.”

If convicted, Barnes could face up to 10 years in prison.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 12.