CHICAGO — Police have arrested a suburban Chicago nursing assistant accused of stealing more than $25,000 in jewelry from mentally and physically impaired patients.

The Cook County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that Krisann Henderson of Arlington Heights was arrested over the weekend and admitted to the thefts.

The case began in January when a man reported several pieces of his wife's jewelry missing while she was at a hospital. Authorities received a tip that one of the caregivers had been a customer at an Arlington Heights pawn shop and pawned several items there after the theft.