Staff Report

WARSAW — A Claypool woman was arrested for allegedly stealing a person’s cellphone.

Patricia Ann Pizarro, 58, 7370 W. Ben Lane, Claypool, is charged with theft, a class A misdemeanor; and theft with a prior conviction, a level 6 felony.

On Oct. 5, 2023, a Warsaw Police officer spoke with a woman about a theft report. The woman said she was shopping at Goodwill when her cellphone was taken. She told police she contacted a friend to have them look on an app to see where her phone was. The app showed the woman’s cellphone was inside the store.

According to court documents, the woman went back in the store to search the cart she used, but the cart was gone.

On Nov. 10, 2023, law enforcement received information from the woman, stating she believed money was transferred from the CashApp account on her stolen cellphone. Cash App reported Pizarro was the money’s recipient. Officers spoke with Pizarro, who said she had been at Goodwill in October 2023, but denied knowing about the phone.

On Dec. 28, 2023, asset protection employees for Goodwill shared footage of the store’s shoe aisle, where the woman’s cellphone had been placed. Pizarro and another woman walked through the aisle, with the other woman placing the phone in their shopping cart.

On Jan. 3, 2024, law enforcement spoke with the woman who was with Pizarro at Goodwill. The woman said she saw the victim’s cellphone on the shelf and retrieved it, believing it was Pizarro’s since it had a sparkly case. The victim said her cellphone had a blue plastic case, meaning it would be false for the woman to mistake it with Pizarro’s sparkly case.

Pizarro was previously convicted of theft in Fulton County in September 2018.

Pizarro was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on May 20, 2025. She has an initial hearing at 1 p.m. Monday, June 9, in Kosciusko Superior Court Two.

A photo of Pizarro was unavailable for publication.