Police Seek Scam Artist Who Stole Thousands From Elderly Man
(CBS) -- He said he was there to trim the trees, stepped inside a home to collect a deposit and then distracted the homeowner.
Police in the Gresham neighborhood are searching for a man whom the homeowner says made off with thousands of dollars.
CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports.
James Jackson says it happened in seconds Wednesday while neighborhood surveillance cameras rolled. Jackson says a tricky tree trimmer snipped away at more than $2,000 of his savings, swiping it from inside his home near 77th and Bishop.
The 71-year-old had a stroke that makes speaking and walking difficult.
He had been expecting a visit from a tree service. So, when a guy showed up and rang the bell, Jackson let him in.
The resident says he went to the bedroom to get deposit money, but the guy followed him, spotted more cash in the room and took that, too.
"I shouldn't have sat it on the dresser," he says.
Jackson's wife wasn't home at the time. But she and other block club members are sharing images of the suspect and the Chevy pickup he was riding in.
He's a man bold enough to strike, even with signs all over the block warning that neighbors are watching.
"This is a sad thing. It really is," says Janice Bradley, president of the Bishop Block Club.
Community activist Andrew Holmes says the surveillance video was good enough for them to identify that truck.
He's helping police in the search for the truck and the suspect. But he says the cops will need all the tips they can get.
