Police warn of distraction thieves in Longwood

LONGWOOD, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Glenn Jefcoat says he had no idea the stranger who rang his doorbell and quickly earned his trust by giving him a heads up about a neighbor’s yard repairs.was actually there to steal from him. 

“Very quick. Very slick.  They came as wolves in sheep's clothing."

 Jefcoat says the sharp-dressed man had a very convincing story about repairing the fence that separates Jefcoat’s backyard from his neighbor’s. 

“In the process, they’d be trimming some tree limbs, and if any happened to fall in my backyard, they’d be sure to pick them up and take them away,” Jefcoat said reciting what the man told him. 

Jefcoat says the man asked him to walk around the back of hiss Longwood home.  At the same time, Jefcoat says the man asked if anyone else was home, saying he’d want to explain what was going on to everyone in the house. 

“He showed me these trees that he was going to limb up,” said Jefcoat, as he pointed at a particular tree. 

He says as he and the man stranger were talking, the stranger got a phone call and they started walking back towards the front of his house.

“I heard someone yell for him.  ‘That's my boss, if I don't go, I'm going to get fired,” Jefcoat recalled. 

He says the young man said good bye and walked off.   Jefcoat says it wasn’t until he went to grab his wallet to go run errands, that he’d realized he’d been duped. 

“I noticed my ATM card was out with my wallet beside it, two $20 bills missing.”

And he says his two jewelry cases were sprawled across the floor. 

“They took  every piece of gold jewelry to include my tie tacks and cuff links,”said Jefcoat. 

Decades worth of sentimental pieces, gone.  Seminole County Sheriff's Deputies say Jefcoat left his front door unlocked as he and the stranger walked around back.  They believe after the first suspect got Jefcoat to walk around back,  a second suspect walked in the front door and grabbed as many valuables as he could as fast as he could. 

Deputies warn if someone shows up at your door claiming to be a worker or contractor, ask for a business card and call the number on it to verify if the person is legitimate.