Diamonds Aren't Forever For Window Cleaners

Clean getaway for window washer? Not this time! A recent police sting allegedly caught Michael S. Kates stealing jewelry from a Muncie home. A Muncie man who once referred to himself as a role model has been accused of stealing jewelry from the homes in which he had been working as a window washer. Michael S. Kates, 42, 8424 W. Ashford Lane, is preliminarily charged with five counts of theft, each a Class D felony carrying a standard 18-month prison term.

According to Muncie police Det. Jim Johnson, Kates has been suspected of thefts from several homes over the past year. Johnson said Kates gained access into the homes by working as a self-employed window washer. "He did the work," Johnson said. "And, by most accounts, people were happy with his work." Although Johnson said Kates' name "kept coming up" as a possible theft suspect at several homes, city police investigators did not have enough evidence to arrest the Muncie man until an Oct. 6 police sting.

According to a probable cause affidavit, a homeowner on North Riley Road allowed Muncie police investigators to set up surveillance equipment in his home. On Oct. 6, the homeowner -- who had suspected Kates was involved in a previous theft from his home -- contacted Kates and asked him to wash his windows. Johnson said investigators watched from the house next door as Kates was observed going into a closet and removing what appeared to be jewelry boxes. When he left the house, he was approached by officers, who reportedly found the jewelry from the house in one of his pockets.

He was taken in custody and questioned by investigators, where Kates allegedly admitted to stealing jewelry at the Riley Road residence that day and at an earlier date while working as a window washer. Kates was also questioned about other thefts during the interview, according to the affidavit. He reportedly admitted to stealing jewelry from a house on North Morrison Road, but denied stealing jewelry from another residence on North Wheeling Avenue. Det. Johnson said he hopes circulating Kates' photo and charging information will encourage other possible theft victims of his alleged window-washing theft scheme to come forward.

Delaware County Sheriff's Office investigators and Yorktown police have also questioned Kates about similar thefts in their jurisdiction, according to the affidavit. Kates' most recent arrest is not his first brush with the law. In 1997, Kates, a former substance-abuse case worker with the Delaware County Community Corrections program, was sentenced to 15 months in jail after court documents indicated he stole amounts ranging from $20 to $50 on eight occasions from DCCC clients. Kates reportedly kept the money -- intended to be user fees from the clients -- and tried to hide his actions by falsifying financial documents.

A State Board of Accounts audit found theft of "not less than $2,493," according to records. His sentence in that case was later reduced to 90 days by Special Judge Tom Diller of Jay County. Then, in February 1990, Kates pleaded guilty in Delaware Circuit Court to dealing in cocaine. His sentencing hearing drew a courtroom full of supportive friends and relatives, and Kates received a six-year suspended sentence, according to The Muncie Evening Press archives. Kates discussed his rehabilitation in an April 1991 article in The Muncie Star, saying he had been in the early stages of a career as a rap music performer -- under the name "Lemondrop Box" -- when he ran into problems with the law.

"We were going to be professionals, but I saw it was the Lord who did it," Kates said. "He needed somebody like me to be a role model." Kates has also worked at the Youth Opportunity Center in Muncie, serving as a child-care worker and participating in a class for teens in trouble with the law. A driving-while-suspended charge is pending against Kates in Yorktown Town Court. In December 2010, he was convicted of criminal conversion in Delaware Circuit Court 3. Kates was being held Wednesday at the Delaware County jail under a $30,000 bond.

Window cleaner charged with theft of diamond earrings: An Iowa City window cleaner has been charged with second-degree theft after he allegedly stole a pair of diamond earrings from the home of a client June 14. Kevin Chapman, originally from Greenville, Tenn., was employed as a window cleaner by All Iowa Window Cleaning and was working at a Donegal Court residence. According to a complaint by Iowa City police, a woman living at the residence reported a missing pair of diamond earrings after the cleaners had finished. The complaint said Chapman entered Money and More on June 15 and had a pair of diamond earrings appraised. Chapman's earrings allegedly matched the description of those reported stolen; they were appraised at between $8,000 and $9,000. Chapman allegedly declined to sell the earrings and left the business. The actual value of the earrings was appraised at $9,755.

Police lock up alleged diamond thief: A Tennessee man is behind bars after police said he stole a pair of diamond earrings worth nearly $10,000 while cleaning the windows of a woman’s home. Iowa City police charged Kevin Lee Chapman, 27, of Greenville, Tenn., with second-degree theft in connection with an incident that occurred June 14 at 78 Donegal Court. According to a criminal complaint, Chapman was part of a crew from All Iowa Window Cleaning that performed work at the residence, where a woman later discovered her diamond earrings to be missing. Police said that Chapman took the earrings to Money and More pawn shop June 15 where the earrings were appraised at $8,000 to $9,000, but he declined to sell them and left the business. Police said the actual appraised value of the items was $9,775. On Monday, Chapman was in the Johnson County Jail on $15,000 cash-only bond.