HollisterFreelance.com | Innocent residents held at gunpoint after robbery hoax

Innocent residents held at gunpoint after robbery hoax

Jul 1, 2009
By Kollin Kosmicki





		The home is shown where the Hollister woman had claimed two robbers forced their way in and stole money and jewelry. Police later learned she made it up after being scammed into giving two people money.
		Photo by: Nick Lovejoy, Staff Photographer

While a woman has admitted to concocting a story about a home-invasion robbery Tuesday, the aftermath that afternoon resulted in deputies detaining innocent occupants of a van - matching a description of the suspect vehicle - at gunpoint in San Juan Bautista.

A press statement released today with additional details on the Hollister woman's robbery story noted how sheriff's deputies initiated a "felony car stop" and detaned the van's occupants at gunpoint before realizing they had no connection to the reported robbery.

Hollister police in the statement go on to say how department detectives later questioned the Fourth Street resident further and learned she "provided a false description of the events" regarding the home invasion reported Tuesday.

"The victim reported being the victim of a lottery scam rather than a home invasion," the statement reads.

The woman Tuesday morning first reported that an unknown male and female forced their way into her residence on the 800 block of Fourth Street after brandishing a gun, and that they stole money and jewelry before escaping.

"What we're hearing now is that the whole thing about guns and being a home invasion was a story she made up to cover up the fact that she might have fallen for one of these lottery scams," HPD Capt. Carlos Reynoso said.

The two suspected scam artists - described as a heavy-set male Hispanic in his 60s and a heavy-set female Hispanic in her 50s - gained the victim's trust and convinced her to turn over "several thousand dollars in cash and jewelry" using the story that a lottery headquarters needed $20,000 as a security deposit before it would pay her $200,000 in winnings, according to the statement.

They promised the victim "several thousand dollars" in return for her assistance in acquiring the $20,000 security deposit, a portion of which the Fourth Street resident withdrew from her bank, the statement reads.

It goes on to point out that as the three had been driving, supposedly to deliver the deposit, the female suspect complained of a stomach ache and asked for aspirin. They asked the victim to go into a supermarket to buy the medicine. They gave her an envelope containing what she believed to be the $20,000 - as a sign of trust by the suspects, according to the statement. She went into the store and when she returned, the suspects had disappeared. When the victim opened the bag, she discovered newspapers rolled up to look like $20,000 in bills she believed were in the bag, according to police.

"It could happen to anybody," Reynoso said. "These people are con artists. They are very convincing."

Police likely will not arrest the woman for making up the story to authorities, leaving it up to prosecutors to decide on possible charges when they receive a report on the incident, he said.

"Even though we don't make an arrest, it doesn't mean she doesn't face charges," Reynoso said.

As for the story to police, Reynoso said she "obviously committed a crime by making a false police report."

She reported to police - some officers had rifles drawn when they arrived - that the duo came to the residence Tuesday morning, knocked on the door and talked to the resident about buying Bibles. The homeowner reported to police she told them she wasn't interested, and that one of the two pulled out a handgun and demanded to come inside. Once inside, she had claimed the duo demanded cash and jewelry from the resident, police reported. She even described them as fleeing in a silver blue or silver green full-sized van.

Kollin Kosmicki
Kollin Kosmicki is editor of the Free Lance and Pinnacle. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 337 or editor@freelancenews.com.