Ruse burglars hit a second Wheaton home; $35,000 in jewelry reported stolen

Burglars posing as maintenance or utility workers have struck two Wheaton homes in four days, stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry after distracting victims under false pretenses, police said.

In what police described as the latest "ruse" burglary, a male suspect wearing a reflective vest approached a resident in a driveway on the 100 block of Mitchell Circle at about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday. The man claimed he was from the water department and needed to check the water meter of the home in a subdivision off Butterfield Road, across from Arrowhead Golf Club.

Both the resident and the suspect went to the backyard, police said. Three additional suspects went inside the house and approached another homeowner, again claiming they were from the water department and needed the resident to empty everything from under the kitchen sink so they could do their work, police said.

The resident became suspicious and told the workers to leave. All four suspects left in a dark-colored Volkswagen SUV, shown in security camera video, with orange license plates heading north.

The residents then discovered their bedroom had been rummaged through and reported roughly $35,000 in jewelry was missing, police said.

The first suspect was described as a Hispanic man about 45 to 50 years old, standing 6 feet tall with a heavy build and wearing dark pants.

The accomplices were described as a Hispanic man about 35 to 40 years old, standing 6 feet tall with a thin build and wearing all black; a white man described as 35 to 40 years old, standing 6 feet 2 inches tall with a thin build and wearing all black with a black face mask; and a Black man about 45 to 50 years old, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall and wearing a tan shirt and pants.

In the first ruse burglary, a team of two men impersonated maintenance workers supposedly scheduled to remove mold from a home on the 300 block of West Union Avenue Saturday afternoon, police said. They used that pretense to remove about $3,000 in jewelry from the home, police said.

It's unclear if the recent burglaries are related.

Police advise homeowners to require workers to show employer-issued identification before allowing them inside. They should avoid using unsolicited workers who claim to be in the area offering discounts.

Anyone with information about the burglaries is encouraged to contact the police at (630) 260-2079.