Home Thieves Disguise as Construction Workers

Two thieves dressed as construction workers are breaking into homes in San Bernardino County, according to authorities who caught them on camera.

The team of two men, who dressed in orange and light green vests often worn by construction workers, was caught on camera entering Janet Oliver’s home, said San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators.

As neighbors believed that they were simply doing construction work, the two men broke in through a window and stole several items, including Oliver’s shotgun.

In the footage, the two African-American men appear in a white Mercedes Benz. Dressed as construction workers, they waited until the street cleared before entering the house, where they took approximately 30 minutes to steal Oliver’s valuables.

Although Oliver’s next door neighbor Cassandra Lara saw one of the thieves leaving her home, she shrugged it off as she believed that he was a construction worker.

“I just looked and didn’t think nothing of it,” Lara told NBC Los Angeles. “It was during the day so I just locked the door and went back in.”

Oliver said that she is alarmed about the safety of the neighborhood than anything else.

“Your house is supposed to be where you come for comfort and your safety,” she said. “It’s supposed to be your castle. I had jewelry stolen but mainly I had my security stolen. I just don’t want it to happen to somebody else. Be aware of your surroundings—suspicious people, suspicious vehicles—because it’s not fun.”

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department later revealed that the two men robbed two other houses on the same day. Neither man has been identified yet.

The sheriff’s investigators added that thieves could easily disguise themselves as city employees, deliverers, utility or construction workers and survey researchers and that any suspicious individual loitering around residential areas should be reported immediately.

By Hyoung Jae Kim