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WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - You can’t afford to get distracted these days, on the road, or even in your home.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says three homeowners have fallen victim to distraction burglaries, and the incidents may be related.
Shirley Pate thought the guy who came to her door seemed like a pretty nice fellow, at least at first.
“He was very friendly, very talkative,” she commented to FOX 13.
The guy told her that he had worked for her husband years ago, and wanted to speak to him about possibly spraying the yard for bugs. Her husband, Jimmie, now in his 80’s, didn’t recognize him.
When she took the visitor out back and pointed him in the direction of her husband who was working in the yard, the guy did something unexpected.
“He pushed me," Shirley recalled. He said, “I want you to go with me,” she said.
Now it makes sense why.
Her husband Jimmie, now in his 80’s, didn’t recognize the man who chatted them up for about 10 minutes.
At one point, he used a walkie talkie to give someone the go ahead to sneak into the house. When the guy left, the Pates discovered that about $3,500 worth of stuff was missing , including their safe and Shirley’s jewelry.
Similar incidents have been happening around Polk County.
“If someone is knocking at your front door that you don’t know, there is nothing to say that you have to open your door,” said Polk Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Michelle Cash.