Woman facing felonies for allegedly breaking into cars, stealing and using credit cards
Published at
POCATELLO — A woman police say broke into two cars in November and stole multiple items faces five felony charges.
Mia Giselle Charley, 21, has been charged with three counts of burglary, one count of grand theft and one count of criminal possession of a stolen bank card, court documents show.
Pocatello police received a call reporting a burglary around 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 2, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The caller said two vehicles at his residence on West Quinn Road had been broken into.
Officers learned that among the items taken from the two cars was a wallet and that cards inside the wallet had been used. One of the victims said a bottle of lotion had been moved, so officers seized the lotion bottle and some other items to check for fingerprints.
Later the same day, officers spoke with the manager of a truck stop where the credit card had been used and requested surveillance footage from the transaction.
After receiving the footage, officers took an image of a woman making a purchase from the video and sent it to nearby agencies for assistance identifying the woman. Officers quickly received a response from Fort Hall police including a booking photo of Charley.
Officers compared the booking photo to the picture and confirmed a match. Upon searching her name on their database, officers learned that Charley had outstanding warrants in Bingham and Bonneville counties.
On Nov. 7, officers went to the Fort Hall Justice Center, where Charley was being held. The affidavit does not indicate charges for which Charley was being held by Fort Hall Police.
During questioning at the justice center, Charley allegedly confirmed that a woman in a picture taken from the truck stop footage was her.
Charley admitted to signing the cardholder’s name, the affidavit says.
She also admitted to entering both vehicles and taking items, including the wallet. She said she took credit cards from the wallet then had her passenger, whom she refused to name, throw the wallet from her car. She said she could not recall where she was when the passenger threw the wallet out the window, the affidavit says.
Charley allegedly told police she was high on fentanyl at the time of the incident.
Police reports note that Charley was “extremely flippant” during the interview, laughing several times.
At the conclusion of the interview, officers informed Charley that they would be pursuing charges of six felonies. Charley agreed that she needed to take responsibility for her actions, the affidavit says, but said she felt six was an unfair amount of felony charges.
Officers explained that “she had literally admitted to all six felonies,” the affidavit says.
Charley was taken into custody by Pocatello police in June and transported to Bannock County Jail, where she was booked and is being held.
Though Charley has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If she is found guilty, Charley could face as much as 49 years in prison.