Woman finds her stolen jewelry at a Cape Coral pawn shop, house cleaner arrested

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

A Cape Coral man was arrested on May 14 after being accused of stealing jewelry from a house he was hired to clean.

According to the Cape Coral Police Department arrest report, the theft was first reported on March 30. Officers responded to the victim's home, where she told them she employed a house cleaner, identified as Donald Claybaugh, 59.

The victim said that she keeps several pieces of jewelry in a jewelry box on her nightstand, and discovered that multiple pieces of jewelry were missing, specifically two gold diamond rings valued at $500, the report said.

The victim told officers she believed Claybaugh may have taken her jewelry when he last cleaned her house on March 12.

On April 6, the victim went to the CCPD headquarters and told officers she had located her stolen jewelry at a pawn shop, the report said. She then told officers that Claybaugh admitted over the phone to her that he had stolen her jewelry.

Officers visited Larry's Estate Jewelry and Pawn Shop on Cape Coral Parkway East and seized seven pawn slips on April 9. The pawn slips detailed transactions spanning from August 2025 to March 2026, with the value of items ranging from $40 to $500, the report said. Officers determined six of the seven slips to be related to the theft.

On May 12, a forensics investigator positively identified Claybaugh's fingerprints on the seized pawn slips, the report said.

On May 14, officers responded to Claybaugh's residence, where they first spoke to Claybaugh's roommate, CCPD said. The roommate told officers Claybaugh had said he "[expletive] up" and had taken jewelry from a customer's house.

Officers then interviewed Claybaugh, who confessed to stealing and pawning the jewelry, the report said.

Claybaugh was arrested and faces charges of grand theft and dealing in stolen property.

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