2 sought in Delaware distraction burglaries

NEW CASTLE, Del. (WPVI) -- Police in New Castle County are warning residence about a band of smooth criminals. This after two homes were burglarized by men pretending to have the victim's best interest in mind.

They call them "distraction burglaries" and New Castle County Police are getting the word out to homeowners. Don't let your guard down when strangers come a-callin'.

Liz, a resident of Wilmington, tells us, "He just, like, came out of nowhere on my back porch."

It happened to Liz and another homeowner last Friday.

The man at her back porch claimed he installed the new fence behind her house for her neighbor and that he had to check to make sure it wasn't encroaching onto her property.

Liz explains, "It wasn't an implausible story that he was telling me, until later on when I realized he never introduced himself to me, he never said what company he was from."

The man walked her back to take a look at the fence. They went behind the garage out of view of the house, and that's when, police say, an accomplice entered the house.

"While we were in the backyard, somebody else ... had come in the backdoor and gone back into my jewelry box and, all they took was rings but that's about all I have," Liz said.

Same thing happened at another home in the Glendale neighborhood a few hours later. This time the ruse was about some trees that needed trimming behind the house.

Police have two similar looking sketches they made with the help of Liz and the other victim. Both described the con artist as being of Indian descent, about 5'8", and weighing around 150 pounds. He was also wearing a royal blue ball cap with white writing.

He was working with an accomplice who heads straight for the jewelry box.

Liz tells us, "It's breaking my heart because a lot of that stuff was my mother's."

She says she can't believe how easily she let her guard down, but the guy was a smooth operator.

"I feel really stupid, I of course feel taken advantage of that they would do this kind of thing to people, but there's bad people all over the world," Liz said.

And they seem to be hitting pretty frequently in this part of the world. Police are again warning residents not to open the door for strangers, to ask for an I.D., and to lock the door behind you if you're lured away from your home.