Former employee arrested for stealing over $1,500 from Caroline hotel’s office safe

CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A former employee of the Days Inn Hotel in Caroline County was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly stealing hundreds of dollars from the hotel's office safe.

On Tuesday, Aug. 19, deputies with the Caroline County Sheriff's Office were called to the Days Inn Hotel in Carmel Church for a service call after the hotel manager reported a theft of over $1,500 from a safe in the hotel's office.

The hotel manager told authorities someone had entered an employee-restricted area of the hotel, accessed a safe and stole over $1,500 in cash.

Deputies reviewed surveillance footage with hotel staff and later identified the suspect as 56-year-old Samir Arvind Patel, a former employee, who, at the time of the theft, was staying at the hotel.

The sheriff's office soon located, interviewed and arrested Patel.

During the arrest, deputies found over $700 in cash in Patel's possession, and he reportedly told deputies that he had just spent over $600 to go to California for unknown reasons. However, Patel was unable to leave the area before being taken into custody, according to officials.

Patel was taken to the Pamunkey Regional Jail, where he was held under a $2,000 secured bond.

His next court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Caroline General District Court.