Motel employee charged with theft, drug possession

MOSES LAKE — A motel employee who ordered pizzas with a customer’s credit card information is facing theft and drugs charges.

Grant County prosecutors charged Brandi Smithers, 28, of Moses Lake, in Grant County Superior Court with second-degree theft-access device and possession of methamphetamine.

About 4:05 p.m. on Monday the Moses Lake Police Department received a report of a theft incident involving an Imperial Motel employee, Smithers. A man in Arizona contacted police stating his credit card information had been fraudulently used at the motel to purchase Domino’s Pizza. The pizza was delivered to the motel and the person who received the pizza identified herself as “Jessica Poulos.”

The victim advised he previously stayed at the motel, but he still had his credit card with him. Police later learned that a woman named Jessica Poulos was lodged in the Grant County Jail when the pizza was delivered. Police watched the room the pizza was brought too and observed a woman with long blond hair wearing a green sweater, who was later identified as Smithers.

The driver who delivered the pizza said the woman who signed for the food had long blond hair and was wearing a green sweater when he encountered her. Police detained Smithers and she reportedly admitted to writing down the victim’s credit card information on a note before it was used to purchase pizza.

Police went to Smithers’ room at the motel and three additional subjects were detained. Several Domino’s pizza boxes were reportedly found in the room, along with drug paraphernalia, methamphetamine and heroin. The note containing the victim’s credit card information was located as well. During an interview at the Grant County Jail on Tuesday Smithers told police a man cooked the heroin that was located in a freezer in the room and left it there.

“Brandi admitted that she knew the heroin was in the freezer. Brandi admitted to the meth bong being hers. Brandi admitted that while (she and her boyfriend) were both responsible for the room, she was the primary one responsible one as she worked for the motel,” wrote an officer.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.