Housekeeper indicted in burglaries at Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel

A federal grand jury has indicted a Fresno woman on 16 counts of first-degree burglary and 16 counts of theft, accusing her of a series of burglaries at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park.

The indictment against Jennifer Crystal Downing, 39, was returned Thursday and announced by U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.

According to court documents, Downing entered rooms in the Ahwahnee and stole cash from the hotel’s customers. The burglaries and thefts began in March and continued through October. At the time, Downing was working on the Ahwahnee housekeeping staff.

If convicted of burglary, Downing faces up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, and if convicted of theft, she faces up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

This is the second time this year a hotel employee in the park has been accused of theft.

In August, a former assistant manager at Yosemite Lodge was charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and taking property from the lodge. A federal grand jury in Fresno returned a six-count indictment against Jason Wilson, 34.

According to court documents, from October 2011 to December 2012, Wilson is believed to have manipulated about 50 hotel reservations and taken roughly $87,800 in funds.

When guests of the lodge checked out after paying, Wilson would cause the lodge to refund the charges, sometimes fabricating reasons for the refund, such as claims there were mice or bedbugs in the room, court documents say. Rather than credit the guest’s credit card, however, the indictment says Wilson directed the credit to his personal debit card or his wife’s.

This story was originally published November 20, 2014 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Housekeeper indicted in burglaries at Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel."