There have been 10 burglary cases
At least 10 Orange homes hit since March
in Orange County since late March in which a suspect posing as a county worker, lawn worker or laborer asks to inspect a person’s backyard.
Mary Etta McKenzie and her family didn’t expect to be robbed of $25,000 worth of valuables by a man taking a look at her Clarcona home’s backyard.
“He was the nicest person you’d ever want to meet,” she said.
McKenzie, 86, is one of the victims of a string of recent burglaries throughout Central Florida, according to the Orange County Sheriff ’s Office.
There have been 10 cases in Orange County since late March in which a suspect posing as a county worker, lawn worker or laborer asks to inspect a person’s backyard, according to the Orange County Sheriff ’s office.
According to officials, during the the scam, a man lures the person outside to look at the yard while an accomplice enters the empty house and steals property. The suspect is speaking on a phone, radio or walkie talkie during this time, possibly to the accomplice. After 15-20 minutes, both burglars quickly leave.
Such was the case with McKenzie.
Twila Stewart, 59, McKenzie’s stepdaughter, answered a knock at a door in April to meet a man wanting to inspect the backyard.
McKenzie said he called himself “Billy” and was muscular with dark hair and dark
“I would have never answered the door and I would have dialed 911.” Twila Stewart, burglary victim
eyes. He drove a silver station wagon, although neither McKenzie nor Stewart was able to see if there was someone else in the car.
Stewart said he spoke with an accent.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the majority of suspect descriptions have been of a man in a white pickup, white SUV, a silver station wagon or a tan sedan. In the most recent case, the man has been described as missing teeth.
“Billy” took McKenzie and Stewart outside while speaking into his walkie talkie for 20 minutes. He refused to let Stewart go back into the house when she asked, McKenzie said.
“It’s very possible that saved her life,” McKenzie said. “You don’t know what kind of people they were. “
McKenzie said “Billy” left shortly after.
They didn’t realize anything had happened until the next morning.
Cletus Stewart, 86, wasn’t home at the time of the burglary. He lost a safe where he stored coins, cash, vehicle titles and bonds.
“My wife went to put on her ring, and there wasn’t any jewelry,” he said.
McKenzie said she lost close to $10,000 in jewelry from her first husband, including her family ring, an opal with diamonds, and other items.
“They’re priceless, you know, and I’ll never replace them,” she said.
Cletus Stewart said that the combined value of everything lost was close to $25,000.
“We just fell flat on our face for it, that’s what really bothers me,” McKenzie said.
Twila Stewart said she’d have done things differently in retrospect.
“I would have never answered the door and I would have dialed 911,” she said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office encourages people to ask for credentials if someone shows up asking to do yard work and to always lock their houses.
There’s a reward up to $1,000 for information concerning these burglaries. You can call Crimeline at 800-423-8477.