A Boynton Beach woman was arrested after she posed as a Comcast employee and burglarized a woman's home, authorities said Tuesday.
Heather Costa, 38, was arrested Saturday after she swiped jewelry from a home in the 300 block of Gulfview Terrace, Boynton Beach Police said.
According to an arrest affidavit, the homeowners told police Costa, who was wearing a black Comcast shirt, entered their home to see how many TVs they had and walked through their bedrooms before walking out the front door.
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Officers who responded to a call of a suspicious person in the area found Costa, who identified herself as Meredith Altomair-Costa, the affidavit said.
Costa initially said she was in the neighborhood visiting a friend, then said she worked for Comcast and was checking the apartment's internet, the affidavit said. When the officer said they were contacting Comcast to verify her employment, she said she was a vendor and didn't work for Comcast, the affidavit said.
When the officers searched her purse, they discovered her real name. When asked why she gave the wrong name, Costa said it was because she thought she had a warrant, the affidavit said.
After Costa was arrested, the officers found five gold and diamond rings, one diamond earring and a gold pin in one of her pockets, the affidavit said. They also found a black beetle brooch crack pipe, the affidavit said.
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The homeowner whose house Costa had just been in identified the brooch and rings as her jewelry which had been on her dresser in her bedroom.
Costa told officers she had gotten the Comcast shirt from her child's father, who is a contractor for the company, police said.
"Consumers should know that Comcast field representatives will always have proper identification on them," the company said in a statement. " If someone comes to your door saying they represent Comcast, ask to see that ID badge. If they cannot produce it, we suggest that you ask them to leave and then notify local law enforcement."
Costa was charged with burglary to an occupied residence, providing a false name to a law enforcement officer and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was being held at the Palm Beach County jail on $5,500 bond and it was unknown whether she has an attorney.
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