Man Poses as City Employee, Burglarizes Resident's House

A 77-year-old woman told that a man posing as a water department employee was involved in a burglary at the woman's house at about 3 p.m. Oct. 24 in the 3500 block of Marian Drive.

Police are looking for a white or possibly light-skinned Hispanic male with a black goatee and last seen wearing a blue shirt with stripes, blue pants, a white hard hat and black shoes.

The woman said the man came to her door, announced that he was from the Trenton Water Department and asked if he could check her water pipes. She initially denied him entrance, but the man "radioed someone else who said that if she did not let him in her water would be turned off for 48 hours," according to a police report.

The woman led the man to her basement where he turned on faucets, put on gloves and was touching various pipes. She said she and the man were in the basement for about 30 minutes.

The man told the woman he needed to retrieve a pipe from outside and exited the house, but did not return.

The woman said she noticed items in her bedroom had been disturbed as she waited for the man to return and found several items missing out of her house.

The items missing were a white gold diamond engagement ring, two diamond wedding bands and a gold chain with a ruby ring on the chain, and an additional 22 various other gold and diamond rings and necklaces according to the report.

Trenton Police Chief William Lilienthal said there are no suspects in the case, but warned residents to be cautious of anyone demanding entrance to their house and to always asks for identification.

"If it's an unscheduled (or scheduled) utility check the resident should call the department and check to make sure (the visit is legitimate)," Lilienthal said. "If they feel uneasy about it they should call. It doesn’t matter if they are notified (about the visit) or not. Make sure it's a valid service check."

The chief added there might have been at least one other person working with the man and that the case is under investigation.

Police said the pipes the man were touching were left loose and leaking water.