× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Two women face charges of theft after they used a potato to melt, then pawn, small gold bars stolen from a woman whose house one of them was hired to clean, police said.

Jamie Lewis, 50, of Omaha and Ronda Etherington, 56, of Council Bluffs are both charged with felony theft and conspiracy. Lewis was arrested on April 20, while Etherington was arrested on April 11 for thefts reported in February.

According to the police report, Etherington owns a cleaning company and has been hired by a Council Bluffs man to clean his and his mother’s home since 2013. Lewis was employed by Etherington at the time, investigators said.

Lewis told the alleged victims that Etherington had been stealing from them for “some time,” and police confirmed both Lewis and Etherington had dealings with an Omaha pawn shop.

An employee of the pawn shop told police Lewis had sold him an African gold coin for $1,290. Etherington had records of three transactions for scrap gold worth a total of $1,000, the shop employee told police.

Police interviewed Lewis, who told them her “conscience is bothering her,” about the thefts. Lewis said, in the summer of 2016, Etherington showed her a gold bar which she claimed to have found on the ground at an apartment complex she was cleaning.