"Fartsy" wrote:
"I live in Pigtown and we have a guy who's going around robbing houses in broad daylight. He's described as a black male, and VERY tall...like 6'5" or so, and he wears a construction vest and gloves."
I called the SW district to confirm, and the very nice officer who picked up the phone said that what police have seen a lot of lately, in the SW and city-wide, is an uptick in reports of the scam of men posing as workers from BGE, sometimes complete with a very-real looking uniform and badge. Sometimes they scam people by saying that they owe money on their bills and the power's going to be shut off that minute if they don't pay, other times they just flat-out shove their way in and rob the house after someone opens the door.
Of course, he says, BGE doesn't collect cash door-to-door, and they don't show up unannounced, so if you see an unexpected "BGE man" or other utility-person type knocking on your door, don't open the door, and call the police!
UPDATE: Says Fartsy, "No, it's not one of the phony BGE men! This guy just kicks in doors and windows -- he doesn't bother with knocking and pretending to be a phony BGE man. One of our neighbors was stabbed multiple times and has a collapsed lung (or had, I haven't gotten an update lately on the guy's condition). The phony BGE guy is a different crook."
Jezum crow!
"I live in Pigtown and we have a guy who's going around robbing houses in broad daylight. He's described as a black male, and VERY tall...like 6'5" or so, and he wears a construction vest and gloves."
I called the SW district to confirm, and the very nice officer who picked up the phone said that what police have seen a lot of lately, in the SW and city-wide, is an uptick in reports of the scam of men posing as workers from BGE, sometimes complete with a very-real looking uniform and badge. Sometimes they scam people by saying that they owe money on their bills and the power's going to be shut off that minute if they don't pay, other times they just flat-out shove their way in and rob the house after someone opens the door.
Of course, he says, BGE doesn't collect cash door-to-door, and they don't show up unannounced, so if you see an unexpected "BGE man" or other utility-person type knocking on your door, don't open the door, and call the police!
UPDATE: Says Fartsy, "No, it's not one of the phony BGE men! This guy just kicks in doors and windows -- he doesn't bother with knocking and pretending to be a phony BGE man. One of our neighbors was stabbed multiple times and has a collapsed lung (or had, I haven't gotten an update lately on the guy's condition). The phony BGE guy is a different crook."
Jezum crow!