Police are searching for a woman accused of posing as a government official and burglarizing a victim’s home in El Cajon.
According to investigators, on Saturday at around 5 p.m. an unknown woman wearing a badge on her shirt with the words “State of California” on it approached an elderly resident who was in her garage in the 1500 block of Country Crest Road.
Investigators say the suspect identified herself as some sort of “government official” and told the victim she needed to measure the victim’s backyard for piping.
Although the victim told police she found the request odd, the suspect was allegedly very persistent and eventually, the victim allowed her into her backyard.
The suspect insisted the victim help her measure the backyard as she wrote down information on a piece of paper. After about 20 minutes, police say the victim was asked to sign the piece of paper and the suspect left.
The victim – who lives alone -- then went into her home and discovered a number of open drawers and missing jewelry boxes.
Police believe the suspect distracted the victim in the backyard while an unknown accomplice burglarized the victim’s home. The loss is thousands of dollars, police say.
Investigators describe the suspect who posed as a government official as a Hispanic woman between 27 and 35 years old. She’s approximately 5-foot-1 with a medium build and brown hair.
She was wearing gray pants, a matching button-up shirt, matching baseball cap, brown work shoes and sunglasses during the incident, as well as a fake badge on her upper right chest area.
There is no description available for the alleged second suspect, and no vehicles were spotted at the scene associated with the theft.
The El Cajon Police Department believes this burglary is an isolated incident, as police are not aware of any similar cases within the county.
Police want to remind residents to be vigilant when employees from any agency ask to enter their homes. Police say citizens should always ask for proper identification, including a photo ID of the worker issued by the agency and report any suspicious activity to officials.