By Kelsey Givens

A woman accused of befriending a local elderly couple and then stealing money from their bank account was arrested by police on Saturday.

Angela Sanchez, 45, of Pahrump was taken into custody on charges of obtain/possess debit card without cardholder’s consent, fraudulent use of credit card, obtain money/goods/services under false pretenses, petit larceny, grand larceny and burglary after an investigation into a local couple’s missing money led a Nye County Sheriff’s detective to discover she had allegedly gained unauthorized access to the victims’ account.

According to a press release issued by NCSO, Sanchez had reportedly befriended the elderly couple in this case over a period of several months.

During that time, she allegedly realized she could easily gain access to their bank account and made numerous unauthorized charges to it, resulting in what police say was a significant loss of money for the couple.

After identifying Sanchez as the main suspect in this case, a detective applied for a search warrant for the woman’s home to search for further evidence of her unauthorized access to the couple’s funds.

The search warrant was granted by a local Justice of the Peace and a search of Sanchez’s residence revealed further evidence of the thefts she allegedly committed against her “friends.”

Sanchez was subsequently placed under arrest for taking money from the couple and transported to the Nye County Detention Center to be booked into custody.

Her bail was originally set at $26,274, but was increased to $50,000 cash or bond after her first appearance in Pahrump Justice Court this week.

She remained in custody at the local detention center as of Tuesday morning.

Detectives are continuing to follow up on additional leads in this case and the investigation remains ongoing at this time.

Police ask if anyone has any information pertaining to this case or the suspect they call NCSO at 775 751-7000.