Grifters get maximum 4-10-year prison sentence

A pair of grifters will experience a downgrade in their lifestyle after they were sentenced to 4-10 years in prison in connection with multiple thefts.

Kaleigh Ann Thinnes, 34, and Gabriel Isaiah Pizarro-Flores, 39, were arrested April 5 after after trying to pay for a room at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort with a stolen credit card.

“It’s not just the Cadillac that was stolen, they went to Edgewood to live high on the hog using other people’s information,” prosecutor Ric Casper said in asking for the maximum sentence for Thinnes.

A woman who said the couple did $400,000 in damage to her home during a vacation rental stay said she hasn’t been able to live there for months.

“We bought our house in 2022 and now it’s empty because of hazardous waste from methamphetamine and fentanyl,” she said, appearing in court virtually.

She said the couple took property and their passports during their stay.

The couple were caught with property worth more than $25,000, including a Cadillac, bags, luggage, computers and the passports of several other people, including the victim, who thanked Douglas County investigators for their work on the case.

Defense attorney Brian Filter argued that Thinnes suffered from addiction to methamphetamine after being treated for a rare condition that makes her lethargic.

Thinnes sought a suspended 1-5-year sentence, saying she struggled with her addiction.

According to news reports, she was arrested in Florida on Christmas Eve 2023 for grand theft and then made bail three weeks later. There is a nationwide warrant out for her arrest in the Sunshine State. She may also face charges out of California in connection with thefts there.

Both Thinnes and Pizarro-Flores admitted to possession of stolen property.

Pizarro-Flores’ attorney Mary Brown said he was homeless for 10 years before he met Thinnes.

““He’s not the ringleader, he was along for the ride,” she said. “He knows he took advantage of a lifestyle he was not entitled to.”

Casper argued that Pizarro-Flores actually had a longer criminal record than Thinnes.

“The idea that he was along for the ride is false,” he said. “His criminal history is much lengthier, and his crimes are not simple.”

Pizzarro-Flores said his mother was a drug addict and his father was an alcoholic.

District Judge Tod Young said he was unmoved by Thinnes’ statement.

“These crimes were painstakingly detailed,” he said. “You are a criminal who makes a great effort to steal so you can stay at a resort where there’s a roof over your head and people bring you food.”

He observed that Pizzarro-Flores was a professional criminal.