Woman, 79, robbed of $10,000 of jewelry
BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE - Police are investigating the flim-flam robbery of a 79-year-old woman at her East Washington Avenue residence recently.

The incident occurred between 5:30 p.m. and 5:48 p.m. on Sept. 22, police said.

The victim stated that a Hispanic male knocked on her front door and told her he was a fence repairman, police said.

The victim described the Hispanic male as clean-shaven, in his mid-20s, 5 feet 4 inches tall and 180 pounds. He wore a yellow hard hat and a yellow safety vest, the police report said.

The victim said that the suspect told her that he was repairing a fence for her neighbors and accidentally poured acid on the grass near her fence, police said.

"I asked the suspect to meet me around the back of my house," the victim told police. "I secured my front door and met the suspect at the back door."

The suspect lured the victim to the rear left corner of her back yard, police said.

He pointed at the grass and stated "see right here is where I poured the acid," the police report said.

The suspect further stated, "I don't want you to worry; my boss is going to repay you for the damages," the victim told police.

The suspect picked up his cell phone and pretended he was talking to his boss. He told the victim that he was going to get his boss and walked to the front of the victim's residence, police said.

The victim did not believe the suspect and secured her back door. She walked up East Washington Avenue to make a right onto Grove Avenue to look for the suspect, the police report said.

She observed a white pickup facing East Washington Avenue from Grove Avenue with two males in the truck, police said.

She then unlocked her back door and saw that her bedroom door was closed, even though she did not shut it, the police report said.

The victim noticed immediately that her gray safe, which was empty, was missing, along with $10,000 worth of jewelry, police said.