Cherry Hill police warn of burglars posing as township workers

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (FOX 29) - An elderly woman was the latest target of a couple accused of s distraction-style burglary in Cherry Hill recently.

The 92-year-old woman, Gina, said a man and a woman came to the front door of her home on Indian King Lane and claimed to be township workers tasked with taking down a nearby tree.

The couple explained that they needed to go into her basement fuse box and turn the electricity off.

"She came in and went down into the cellar with me," said Gina. "It didn't dawn on me to lock the door when we went down there."

Gina said the couple communicated in Spanish via walkie-talkie which allowed the pair to discreetly pull of the heist.

"She went running upstairs and I followed her, I didn't know where the hell she went," said Gina. "That's when the wheels really started to turn in my head."

While Gina was in the basement with the phony township worker, the man was upstairs rummaging through Gina's belongings and apparently made off with jewelry.

Cherry Hill police say this is not the first time a burglary of this nature has happened. They say the scam was unsuccessfully attempted on the 700 block of Cooper Road and the 500 block of Fern Avenue.

While it is rare that a township worker would show up unannounced at your door, police say home owners will know the legitimacy of a township employee by noticing a photo identification badge.

Chances are, if you didn't call the person to your house, if you didn't make an appointment with them, they shouldn't be there," said Cherry Hill Police Department Chief, William Monaghan.

While Gina feels foolish, she wants to warn others.

"I am an honest person and I think everyone is the same and it's not true,"