Hemet home ransacked by burglars disguised as firefighters
A homeowner in Hemet is perplexed after a man who claimed to be a firefighter took thousands of dollars worth of goods after they evacuated the area.
The suspect claimed to the homeowner, who identified himself only as Terry, that he was a firefighter and that Terry needed to evacuate.
As a former firefighter himself, Terry told the suspect that he and his wife would leave their home when necessary.
But after the man said that he too used to fight fires for Cal Fire, Terry let his guard down and left without locking his front door.
The suspect then allegedly made his way into the house and stole thousands of dollars worth of Terry's wife's jewelry.
Terry's neighbor's security video captured the moment the suspect was leaving the house. It's unclear if it's the same young man that approached Terry, but Terry is certain it's the same person.
By the look of the surveillance video, it appears that there was another suspect involved in the home robbery.
After 30 minutes, both suspects eventually left the home, according to Terry.
Terry told CBSLA Reporter Lauren Pozen that he got a notification through his Ring security doorbell but couldn't not see the actual video due to a malfunction.
"As I walked in and looked down the hallway closet was open walked into the bedroom. My wife has a large standing jewelry box. It was wide open and there was nothing in it," Terry said.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department told Pozen that it has received at least two reports of robberies in the last week following evacuation orders in Hemet due to the Fairview Fire.
The department has made one arrest in one of the cases but Terry's is still under investigation. Terry said he wants other residents who have been put in similar situations to be aware of thieves like the ones who broke into his home.
"There's people impersonating safety personnel. It's bothersome to me wearing firefighter gear you can't trust anybody now," Terry said.