Gwinnett Police Warn of Distraction Burglaries Targeting Elderly Victims

The Gwinnett County Police Department is investigating a series of distraction style burglaries targeting elderly victims.  So far in 2012, Gwinnett has had seven incidents we attribute to the series.  Several other metro-Atlanta agencies are investigating similar cases.  At this time we are linking 11 total cases to the series.

The suspects in these cases target elderly victims, usually women, who they believe are home alone.  One of the suspects, usually described as a Hispanic or Slavic male of average height and weight, approaches the victim for a seemingly legitimate reason.  This suspect is polite and dressed in a manner appropriate to his story. 

A common approach has been for the suspect to tell the victim he is building a fence for a neighbor and needs the victim to point out her back property line.  The suspect who accompanies the victim to the back yard makes contact with a second suspect via Nextel or cell phone.  The suspect usually has a brief conversation in a foreign language.  While the victim is in the back yard with the first suspect, a second suspect enters the home through the front.  The suspects usually take only jewelry.

These suspects operate throughout Gwinnett County and the metro-Atlanta area, not focusing on any one place.  They have used several stories in addition to the example mentioned above, including that they are employees of a cable or utility company, and that they are present to inspect a deck.  The story always requires the victim to accompany the first suspect to the back of the house.  They have used several vehicles, including a white pickup truck, a black pickup truck, and a white van.

Anyone coming into contact with suspects matching this description or using this method of operation should call 911 immediately.  Anyone with information for detectives can call 770-513-5300.

(This information was brought to you by the Gwinnett County Police Department.)