Hotel Employee Accused of Stealing Guests’ Credit Cards for Food, Movies and Pizza

A Washington hotel employee was arrested after police said she repeatedly stole customers’ credit card information and used it to pay for groceries, restaurant meals, movie tickets and other personal expenses.

The investigation came to a head on Feb. 7, 2026, when officers arrived at the hotel and arrested employee Alexis “Lexi” King. She initially appeared confused and was told she was being taken into custody on both an outstanding driving-related warrant and allegations of theft.

During an interview at the Ellensburg Police Department, investigators began with one especially inconvenient piece of evidence: a Domino’s pizza order King had placed that night.

King acknowledged ordering the pizza but claimed her phone had automatically filled in a saved payment card that she believed was her own. Police said the card actually belonged to a hotel guest.

The interviewing officer challenged that explanation, noting that a phone would not normally possess a stranger’s full credit card number, expiration date and security code unless someone had previously entered the information.

Investigators said the pizza was only one of several suspicious purchases.

Police also linked King to movie tickets purchased several days earlier and to charges involving Walmart, KFC and other merchants. According to the officer, more than one hotel customer had reported unauthorized transactions connected to purchases King had made.

Faced with the growing list of charges, King eventually said she had been struggling financially while receiving limited hours at the hotel. She described using the cards mainly for food and hygiene products rather than luxury purchases.

The officer acknowledged that financial hardship may have helped explain her actions, but reminded her that each unauthorized transaction represented a separate crime and created new problems for the victims.

The most serious question was how King obtained the card information.

Police asked whether she had photographed cards, written down numbers or copied customer information from the hotel’s computer system. King initially refused to explain.

She later described a practice allegedly used by a former manager in which guest credit card details were entered into the comments section of reservations inside the hotel’s Opera booking system. King said she had seen him do it and eventually admitted using the same method herself.

According to the interview, she selected guest accounts at random and sometimes continued using the stolen card information for repeated purchases. She said she did not know how many customers’ cards had been used.

Police seized her phone and said they would seek a search warrant to determine how much customer information was stored on it and whether anyone else had been involved. King declined to provide the phone’s passcode.

The case highlights the vulnerability of customers who hand over personal information during routine hotel check-ins. Guests may assume their payment information is safely contained within a reservation system, but even a notes field or improperly stored card number can create an opportunity for theft.

Cam Stories TV reported that King was charged with grand theft, credit card fraud and identity theft. The video account did not include the final outcome of the case.

What began with a pizza order ultimately exposed what investigators described as a much broader pattern: hotel customers checking out, moving on with their trips and later discovering that the person behind the front desk may still have had access to their money.