Man Posing as City Inspector Burglarizes Home

The San Marino Police Department released the following information late Thursday afternoon:

On Tuesday, March 6, the San Marino Police Department responded to a report of a robbery and deception Burglary that occurred at a single family residence in the 1600 block of Virginia Rd.

A deception burglary is a burglary committed by person(s) that gain entry to a home by posing as an employee of a particular company. This includes, but is not limited to, utility companies, delivery companies and construction companies such as UPS, FEDEX, Edison and City employees.

There appears to have been multiple suspects in the crime.

The homeowner answered a knock at the front door at about 5 p.m. and started talking to a man who told the victim he was a City of San Marino Inspector. He told the victims the City was conducting an underground utility project and several trees would need to be removed in the rear yard. The suspect spent nearly an hour with the victims in the rear yard identifying trees and locations for the underground construction. At one point, the suspect led the female victim to the front yard where he forcibly removed a diamond wedding ring from her hand and fled.

It was later discovered that a safe, containing cash and jewelry was taken from the residence as well as jewelry from the master bedroom. No injuries were reported.
 
This case remains under investigation.

DECEPTION BURGLARY TIPS

To avoid being a victim of a deception burglary the San Marino Police Department is offering the following safety tips:

•                         Stay inside your home
•                         Don't open the door
•                         There is no need to invite anyone into your home
•                         If possible, verify his/her I.D. through the peephole

To verify an Edison employee's I.D. you can call 1-800-655-4555.

To verify a City of San Marino employee you can call 626-300-0700.

If you can't verify the I.D. or if you feel unsafe or suspect criminal activity, Call 911 immediately.

REMEMBER, never give out any financial information, especially

• Social Security Number
• Credit card information
• Bank account information

Will you do anything differently after finding out about this deception burglary?