Police are looking for a man they say posed as a utility worker and distracted a Long Island woman while burglars ransacked her house in a scheme crooks have run on unsuspecting homeowners several times in recent weeks.
The man went to a home on Pine Street in Herricks Friday afternoon, told an elderly resident that he was with National Grid and said that he needed to check the home's water because of a gas explosion nearby, according to Nassau County police.
The suspect then led the resident to the basement and kept her there for about 20 minutes, police say. The victim later said she thought she heard footsteps above.
When the man left, the woman realized that her jewelry was missing.
Police say the man was in his early 30s, speaks with a lisp or stutter and was last seen wearing a yellow construction vest and hard hat.
Authorities say that Friday's heist was just one of a series of similar burglaries in Nassau County recently. They’re warning residents to ask anyone claiming to work with a utility to show identification, especially if they show up unexpectedly.
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.
