Cleaner Who Stole Sentenced to Prison

Woman Took Valuables From Clients' Homes

The housekeeper who stole tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry and valuables from those whose homes she cleaned across Northern Virginia has been sentenced to more than 2 1/2 years in prison and ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution.

Mirian C. Martinez, 47, operated Mirian Cleaning Services and had been working across the region for more than a dozen years, her attorneys said. She had a reputation as reliable and hardworking, her clients said.

But homeowners in Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington counties began to notice items missing -- clothing, prescription medication, money and jewelry. In one case, a ring worth more than $40,000 disappeared in Fairfax. A family in Loudoun, which had employed her for 11 years, noticed a Tiffany charm bracelet missing.

Detectives checked local pawnshops and found that Martinez had taken nearly 200 items to First Cash Pawn on North Glebe Road in Arlington. In August, Martinez was arrested, and prosecutors filed charges in all three counties.

By the fall, Martinez had pleaded guilty to grand larceny charges in all three counties. "She was extremely desperate at the time this happened," her attorney, Anna K. Livingston, said after Martinez's plea in Arlington in October. "One thing she told the detective was she was afraid of losing her house."

In Arlington, prosecutors said about $1,600 in stolen jewelry was recovered from a pawnshop and Martinez's home. The Tiffany charm bracelet stolen from Loudoun also was recovered.

But the $40,000 diamond ring taken in Fairfax was not recovered, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Camille Turner said at Martinez's sentencing Friday in Fairfax. The owner's insurance policy repaid $38,000, but when the owner tried to buy a replacement ring, the cost was $50,000. Turner said the $12,000 difference would be included in the restitution that Martinez must pay.

"This is, emotionally, not your typical grand larceny case," Turner told Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White. "What we have in this case is something far more personal," saying that Martinez took "thousands upon thousands of dollars [in valuables] from victims' homes."

Martinez was sentenced first Feb. 6 in Loudoun to five years in prison, but with all but one year and 35 days suspended.

Next, she was sentenced Feb. 20 in Arlington to three years in prison, with all but six months suspended. By that time, Martinez had served six months in jail while awaiting trial and sentencing.

Martinez then appeared in Fairfax court. Turner said that "it may well be, given the defendant's status, the victims will never be made whole" by restitution. Mark J. Yeager, who also represented Martinez, said that Martinez likely would be deported after serving her time and that she had lived in this country illegally for 20 years without a prior brush with the law. Yeager said a boyfriend of Martinez's had been involved in pawning the stolen items and played a significant role in the case.

"I want to apologize," Martinez said through an interpreter. "I did it in a moment without thinking. I had a lot of pressure," she told the judge, "but it's your decision."

White sentenced her to three years on each of the two counts of grand larceny, then suspended all but one of the years on each count. He ordered the Fairfax counts to run concurrently, but he ordered them to run consecutive to the Loudoun term. The Loudoun and Arlington sentences were also ordered to run consecutively, Yeager said.