Nurse's Aide Stole Money from Patient, Police Say

A visiting nurse's aide has been charged with stealing $408 from a patient’s home on Weyhill Circle in Lower Saucon Township, according to court papers.

Lisa Sikes, 46, of the 1300 block of Pleasant View Road, Lower Saucon Township, is accused of stealing six white envelopes—each containing $68—during a visit to the patient’s home in early January, according to an arrest affidavit filed by Cpl. Christopher Leidy of the Lower Saucon Township Police Department.

The envelopes were kept in a desk drawer to pay the cleaning lady, who has been visiting the home for seven years and with whom "there has never been a problem or a question of...character," the affidavit says.

The affidavit also says:

• The victim told police that the cleaning lady took one envelope on Jan. 3, and that there were six left in the drawer. When the cleaning lady next visited on Jan. 10, the remaining envelopes were gone.
• The victim told police there had been no forced entry to the home, that the door was always locked when the home was unattended, and that there were no other visitors to the home except for Sikes.
• The victim told police Sikes had been seen in and around the desk that had contained the missing envelopes.
• Sikes told police that she had gone into the desk, but did not steal the money. When asked to take a lie detector test, Sikes initially agreed, but later refused when police attempted to schedule an appointment.

Sikes was charged with theft and receiving stolen property. She was arraigned Friday before District Judge Patricia Romig-Passaro of Bethlehem and released on $5,000 unsecured bail.