A hotel employee in Washington was arrested after police said customers’ credit card information was stolen and used for personal purchases, including food, groceries, movie tickets, and a pizza order that helped investigators confront her with evidence during an interview.
The case was featured in a video by Cam Stories TV, which reported that officers were dispatched to a hotel on February 7, 2026, after receiving a complaint that an employee had allegedly taken multiple customers’ credit card information and used it to make unauthorized purchases over a period of time.
The employee, identified in the footage as Alexis “Lexi” King, was working at the hotel when Sergeant Potter and Corporal Ingram arrived. Potter told King that their cameras were recording, asked her to step away from the desk, and then informed her she was under arrest.
At first, King appeared confused and asked why she was being arrested. Potter told her she had an arrest warrant for driving with a suspended license, but he also said she was being arrested for theft.
“Well, that’s what I would like to talk with you about,” Potter told her, saying they would go over the details once she was brought to the police department.
A Pizza Order Helped Open The Interview
At the Ellensburg Police Department, Potter began the interview by going through standard information and reminding King that she had already been advised of her rights.
When he asked whether she had any idea what theft case he was talking about, King said no.
Potter then turned to a very specific question: had she ordered a pizza that night?
King said she had. When Potter asked how she paid for it, she said she used a card that was saved on file and believed it had autofilled her own card information.
That answer became the opening the sergeant used to explain the problem with her story. Potter told King that the card used for the Domino’s order did not belong to her, but to one of the hotel’s guests.
“How would it autofill a customer’s information?” Potter asked, pointing out that a phone usually cannot save a credit card number, expiration date, and security code unless someone first enters that information.
King repeatedly said she did not know how it happened.
The officer did not accept that explanation, and he soon made clear that the pizza order was not the only transaction under investigation.
Police Said Other Customer Cards Were Used
Potter told King that another purchase had been made for movie tickets on February 4, when she went to see “Zootopia” at a theater.
King acknowledged going to the movies and buying three tickets online, though she initially struggled to remember the movie title. Potter said that transaction, like the pizza order, involved a card that investigators believed was connected to a hotel customer.
He then brought up an older report taken by Sergeant Sado involving another hotel guest who said they stayed at the Red Lion and later found fraudulent charges on their card in Yakima.
According to Potter, those charges included Walmart, KFC, and another online merchant.
The pattern mattered because investigators were not looking at one mistaken card selection or one accidental transaction. Potter told King that more than one customer had their card information used for purchases tied back to her, and he wanted to understand how that could happen if she was not using her phone for hotel business.
“Help me understand how it could possibly be that two different people had their credit cards used by you on accident,” Potter said.
King said she did not have an answer.
King Said She Was Struggling To Get By
As the interview continued, King began explaining that she had struggled financially while working limited hours at the hotel.
She said she had been receiving only two overnight shifts a week, totaling about 16 hours, while a former manager allegedly told others she did not want more hours. King said she had actually been asking for more work and later began getting full 40-hour weeks only after that manager left.
Potter suggested that the timing would make sense if the alleged card use began while she was not making enough money and was trying to cover basic needs.
King eventually agreed that the behavior began around that period, though she was vague about the exact date and said it may have started a few months earlier.
When Potter asked what she bought with the cards, King described basic items rather than luxury purchases.
“Food,” she said. “Hygiene products.”
Potter told her he believed she had been using the cards to get by, not to buy “lavish extraordinary things.” Still, he made clear that the dollar value or purpose of the purchase did not erase the crime.
“Each transaction that you do with somebody else’s credit card is a crime,” Potter said.
That point is central to the case. Financial desperation may explain why someone makes a bad decision, but every unauthorized purchase still creates a victim who has to cancel cards, dispute charges, update accounts, and worry about what other personal information may have been exposed.
The Hotel System Became Part Of The Investigation
One of the most important parts of the interview came when Potter pressed King on how she obtained the customer credit card information.
He asked whether she took pictures of cards, wrote the numbers down, copied them from the computer, or stored them on her phone. For a long stretch, King said she did not have an answer and then admitted she did not want to answer “at the moment.”
Potter explained why the method mattered. He said hotel employees can have access to names, driver’s license information, dates of birth, credit card numbers, expiration dates, and security codes, which can become dangerous if that information is copied or shared.
He also told King that he needed to know whether she was acting alone, giving information to someone else, cloning cards, or taking part in something larger.
“What makes me concerned is the fact that you won’t explain, or you don’t want to explain, how you’re getting this information and why,” Potter said.
King eventually said she did not want to bring anybody else into it, then began discussing a former general manager who had left the hotel. She said he had years of experience with Opera, the hotel’s reservation and booking system, and knew its “ins and outs.”
King said the former manager would type card information into the comments field of guest reservations, which could allow that information to be accessed later.
Potter clarified that she had watched him do that and then, at some point, began using the same process herself. King eventually agreed.
Random Guests, Saved Information, And Repeated Purchases
Potter asked King whether she used every customer’s information.
King said no.
When he asked how she selected which customers to use, she said it was random.
The sergeant then tried to understand how long she would keep using a card before stopping, offering a scenario where a guest checked in, the card information was entered into the comments field, and the card was later used for Walmart, KFC, Domino’s, or other basic purchases.
King said there was no “general rule of thumb” for when she stopped using a card, and she did not know how many cards were involved.
Potter told King that he would seize her phone and apply for a search warrant to determine how many cards were saved or stored there. When he asked for her passcode, she declined to give it.
That refusal did not end the investigation, but it showed why police were focused on the phone. If customer card numbers had been entered into apps, saved in wallets, used for online purchases, or stored in some other way, the device could show the scope of the alleged fraud.
The case also highlights a major risk in service industries where employees handle customer payment information. A hotel guest may assume their card is protected by the booking system, but if someone copies the data into a notes field, a personal phone, or an online account, the customer may not know until suspicious charges appear days later.
Potter Warned About The Impact On Victims
Potter repeatedly told King that his job was not only to gather evidence against her, but also to understand how far the damage extended.
He explained that stolen card information can affect victims beyond the first charge, especially if payments tied to their accounts fail after cards are canceled or replaced.
“You possess other people’s information that’s detrimental to their lives,” Potter told her.
He also told King that prosecutors, not officers, decide the final charges, and that her cooperation and explanation could matter when the case was reviewed.
That portion of the interview was notable because Potter did not yell or treat the case as a simple “gotcha” moment. Instead, he walked King through why the method, number of victims, and possible involvement of others all mattered.
His tone was sympathetic at times, especially when discussing her financial struggles and work schedule, but he also made clear that using customers’ cards for personal gain was not acceptable.
Charges Followed The Interview
Cam Stories TV reported that King was charged with grand theft, credit card fraud, and identity theft.
The video did not provide a final court outcome, but the interview showed how investigators believed the case came together: customer cards used for purchases, transactions tied to King’s activity, and an alleged method involving card information placed in hotel reservation comments.
What makes the case especially troubling is the setting. Hotel guests hand over payment information as part of an ordinary transaction, trusting that the employee at the desk is using it only for the room, deposit, or approved charges.
When that information is misused, the theft is not only financial. It also damages the trust customers place in businesses that routinely collect sensitive data.
King told Potter that she had been trying to survive on limited income and buy basic necessities. That explanation may make the case more human, but it does not remove the harm caused to the people whose cards were allegedly used without permission.
In the end, the investigation described by Cam Stories TV turned on a familiar mistake in financial-fraud cases: a suspect may think small purchases will blend into the background, but pizza orders, movie tickets, delivery addresses, apps, and saved cards can leave a trail that points investigators back to the person using them.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
