City of Tonawanda police arrested a Lackawanna man for allegedly stealing a customer’s prescription pain medication while cleaning her carpets.
Geoffrey Roll cleaned carpets at the customer’s home, then returned soon after when the woman dropped a plate of spaghetti on the carpet a few days later. After the final cleaning, Roll returned to the the house several times, saying he was looking for a brush he had lost inside the home.
The woman told police a pattern began to emerge after a few visits, said Lt. Fred Foels.
“She got a little suspicious because he always asked to use the bathroom,” Foels said.
The bathroom is located close to the bedroom where the woman kept her prescription Oxycontin pills. The last time Roll came to the home the woman’s daughter was there for lunch and told her mother it was suspicious behavior for Roll to keep coming over.
When the victim went into her bedroom to take an Oxycontin pill for her back pain, she found the bottle missing. A call to the carpet cleaning company led officers to Roll’s manager, who said Roll was just out of rehab for addiction to Oxycontin and had been fired after the homeowner’s complaint. Police took Roll into custody soon after, Foels said.
“When confronted with the facts, he confessed,” Foels said.
Roll surrendered on a warrant for petit larceny and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. He was held for court.
Contact reporter Daniel Pyeat 693-1000, ext. 158.
Local News
November 20, 2009
CITY OF TONAWANDA: Cleaner charged with theft of customer's painkillers
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