Sacramento Co. Man, 2 Others Pose As Tree Trimmers, Burglarize 96-Year-Old Sonoma Co. Woman: Sheriff's Office

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- Thanks to an alert caller, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office says a North Highlands man and two Richmond men were caught Wednesday shortly after they allegedly posed as tree trimmers in order to burglarize a 96-year-old Boyes Hot Springs woman.

The victim, who lives in the 19300 block of Highway 12, told deputies she was at home Wednesday afternoon watching TV when she heard a knock on her front door.

"When she answered it, a man was there and wanted to talk to her about tree trimming in the backyard of her home," said Sonoma County sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum. "She went to the backyard and talked about her trees for about 15 minutes and he then left."

What she didn’t realize at the time was that while she spoke with the purported tree trimmer, two other men entered her home and stole her belongings, Crum said.

Fortunately for the woman, an employee of a nearby business called 911 at about 3:15 p.m. to report seeing men running out of the elderly woman's home carrying a safe and other items, Crum said. The caller also provided a detailed description of the vehicle the men left in.

Soon after, deputies from the Sonoma Police Department located the car in the area of Broadway and W. Napa in Sonoma and made a traffic stop, the sergeant said.

"In the vehicle, the deputies found a small safe and a pillowcase loaded with jewelry," Crum said.

Sheriff's officials identified the three suspects as Tarzan Miller, a 34-year-old man from Richmond; Tommy Mitchell, a 27-year-old man from Richmond; and Richard Mitchell, a 48-year-old man from North Highlands.

Crum said when deputies returned to the home of the 96-year-old victim -- who did not yet realize she had been burglarized -- and showed her the safe and the pillowcase of jewelry, she confirmed the items belonged to her.

"She took [the] deputies into her home and she noticed that her safe was missing along with her jewelry and a pillowcase off one of her pillows," Crum said.

Meanwhile, the three men were booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property, elder abuse and conspiracy, and were being held on $100,000 bail.

"We are very thankful to the alert caller who noticed the suspicious behavior and called 911 to report the crime," Crum said.

Photo courtesy of Sonoma County Sheriff's Office