A former employee at a Lakeville nursing home was sentenced Friday to serve one year in jail for stealing valuables from nine patients who ranged in age from 66 to 98, prosecutors said.
Alisha M. Martin, 37, of New Bedford, pleaded guilty in Wareham District Court to two counts of receiving stolen property over $250, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz’s office said in a statement.
She was sentenced to 2½ years with one year to serve and the balance suspended for three years, prosecutors said. Martin was also ordered to pay $539 in restitution.
“We are pleased that Ms. Martin will serve jail time for her violation of trust in this case,’’ Cruz said in the statement. “The families of these victims believed that Ms. Martin was administering care and medical attention, not snatching cherished mementos right off of their loved one’s hands and necks and from their bedside tables.’’
Martin’s lawyer declined to comment.
According to prosecutors, Martin worked as a certified nurse assistant at Island Terrace Nursing Home for about a month last year before she began stealing from patients. The home contacted police in May.
The stolen property included wedding rings, gold and gemstone rings, gold cross chains, and approximately $30 in cash, Cruz’s office said.
Peter Brightman, 68, of Fairhaven, said his late wife, Jane, suffered from dementia and was a victim of Martin, who stole a diamond ring from his spouse that he had given to her 15 or 20 years ago.
“That was really the only thing Jane had left of her life, frankly,’’ Brightman said, adding that the nursing home fully reimbursed him for the ring, which was valued at about $500.
He said he is putting that money toward an enrichment scholarship in his wife’s name for elementary school students in New Bedford, where she taught for many years.
“The thief was sorry she got caught,’’ said Brightman, who read a victim impact statement at Martin’s sentencing. “The things she did and the way that she did it to those residents, making people’s fingers bleed as she pried the rings off their hands. . . . I don’t know how she can sleep nights.’’
Prosecutors said authorities recovered most of the stolen items and that many victims were unable to communicate.
Martin was fired after the thefts came to light.
Carol Tolles, owner and human resources director of Island Terrace, said in a phone interview that she hopes the sentencing will convey “a very strong warning to anyone with these inclinations to stay out of our industry.’’
She said the nursing home conducted a full background check on Martin and no prior convictions or arrests turned up.
Asked if Island Terrace had a prior case of employee theft or abuse of patients since its inception in 1957, Tolles said, “No, and if there had been, all of you would have known, because I would have gone after the person. . . . Island Terrace will not duck these issues.’’
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.
