Crime & Safety

Police Investigating Seven Deception Burglary Incidents

Burglars lure elderly homeowners away from open doors.

Nassau County Police said that burglars preying on the elderly, by trying to distract them, have struck seven times in December.

At a news conference at police headquarters in Mineola Wednesday, Lt. Kevin Smith warned elderly residents and their neighbors to stay alert.

"We want to get some cautions out there," Smith said. "And the cautions are basically this, If anyone shows up at your door who's a stranger, don't let them in."

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In each of the cases one of the burglars has tried to lure their elderly victims from their home, usually into a yard, by saying they needed to do work in the rear of the victims' homes. 

While the victims are speaking to the scammer, an accomplice enters the home and tries to steal the victims' property.

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"They're vile, despicable scam artists, that's what they are," Smith said."They talk their way into people's homes and then talk their way out the back door and they seem like nice people. They're anything but."

Police released information about seven incidents, which began on Dec. 7. The burglars were successful twice in Massapequa Park and once in West Hempstead.

There were also two attempted burglaries in Merrick, one in Wantagh and one in Jericho.

In all but one case, the victims were in their 80s. In the last four incidents a woman with a walkie talkie tried to lure the victims from their homes. She is described as a Hispanic woman between 20 and 40 years old.

Police believe these four incidents are connected if not all seven.

Here are details of all seven incidents.

  • On Dec. 9 at 4 p.m., two white males went to the Jerusalem Avenue home of an 88-year-old Wantagh man and said they were fence workers who needed to get into the home owner's yard. Nothing was taken.
  • On Dec. 13 at  2 p.m., an 80 year-old man was buglarized in Massapequa Park by two white males who said they were power workers. The burglars took cash and jewelry from the home on Philadelphia Ave.
  • On Dec. 14  at noon, an 84-year-old man who lives on Park Drive in Jericho, was approached by two male Hispanics who claimed to be gutter repair men. Nothing was taken. The homeowner said the men escaped in a white van.
  • On Dec. 23 at 11 a.m., an 81-year-old man who lives on Cherry Valley Avenue in West Hempstead, who told him she needed to do work in his yard. She was seen walking to a red vehicle with Florida license plates, police said. The elderly man discovered art and jewelry were missing. The woman is described as Hispanic, 5’ 6” tall, medium-build with a noticeable lazy or drooping eye. She was wearing a wool hat and dark clothing.
  • On Dec. 27 , a woman with a walkie talkie went to the home of a 83-year-old Merrick resident on Yale Road, who needed to do work in the home owner's yard. Nothing was taken and the home owner saw a the female Hispanic and a male Hispanic leave in a dark minivan.
  • About 10 minutes after the incident on Yale Road, the same two suspects drove around the corner to the home of a 68-year-old Kirkwood Avenue resident in Merrick and asked the home owner if he had scrap metal to get rid of. Again, nothing was taken and the suspects were seen entering a maroon minivan with Florida plates.
  • On Dec. 27 at 12:10 p.m. an 81-year-old Massapequa Park man was burglarized on Lindbergh Street in Massapequa Park. The victim said he was approached by a woman who said she needed to do work in his yard. He became suspicious and called police. It was later discovered that jewelry was taken.

In addition to warning seniors, Smith urged all residents to keep an eye out for suspicious activity in the area. 

He also said that some other seniors may have been burglarized without realizing it if they've let strangers into their home recently.

"We're suggesting they go check their valuables and make sure that they're in place," Smith said.

Smith said nobody has been hurt in any of the incidents, and said that the burglars tendency was "To flee rather than fight," when they've been discovered.

Although not included in Smith's report, o by a couple of thieves who used a deception scam to steal items from the house, according to village police.


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