Caregiver charged with stealing from Barrington woman

A Wauconda woman is facing multiple felony charges alleging she stole from a Barrington senior she was hired to care for, police said Monday.

Vanessa Bahena, 23, is charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of unlawful use of a credit card.

Barrington Assistant Police Chief John Burke said Bahena used the woman's credit card to purchase items from Jewel and Macy's, including two purses costing about $300. In all, Bahena is accused of making less than $1,000 in unlawful purchases on the woman's card, Burke said.

Police were alerted to the allegations by the woman's daughter. Before contacting police, she confronted Bahena about cash and pain medication that had gone missing, police said. After being confronted, Bahena returned the cash and most of the pills, according to police.

Burke said this is the second time Bahena has been arrested on charges she stole from people she was hired to care for. In May 2016, she was charged with aggravated identity theft, unlawful possession of a credit card and theft from a senior living community in Barrington, Burke said.

She pleaded guilty in January to misdemeanor theft under a deal in which she was sentenced to two years of probation and 150 hours community service, court records show.

Burke said the public should be vigilant when hiring caregivers.

"We want to make people aware when they do employ people that they get a proper background check," he said.