Man Posing As Belmont Utility Worker Flees When Asked For ID
BELMONT (CBS SF) - Police are warning Belmont residents to be on guard after a man claiming to be a city employee sought access to a home's backyard Tuesday afternoon but fled when the resident pressed him for professional identification.
A man in his early 30s knocked on a door of a home in the 1700 block of Chula Vista Drive and verbally identified himself as a City of Belmont employee at about 2:45 p.m.
The man told the woman who answered the door that he was working on a sewer line and needed to access her backyard to check on something, police said.
Although the woman initially allowed him into the yard, she reconsidered and asked him to produce a badge or other form of identification.
The man, when confronted, said he was going to retrieve identification from his vehicle. Instead, he sped off in what police said was a dark red or burgundy van.
The suspect is a white male with a medium build who stands approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 170 lbs. He was wearing a yellow hard hat, dark blue long-sleeved shirt and dark pants.
Although the suspect's intentions were still unknown as of Wednesday evening, police believe he may have been casing the neighborhood for a burglary or other crime.
Police are reminding residents that all city employees and utility workers carry identification verifying their employment and that residents who have reservations about the identity of persons who knock on their door should contact local law enforcement immediately.
Anyone with information about this incident, suspect or vehicle is asked to contact Belmont police at (650) 595-7400.
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