HEATH, Texas — Two people were arrested in connection with a door-to-door utilities scam which among other people, targeted an 86-year-old Heath woman, the Heath Department of Public Safety announced today.
HEATH, Texas — Two people were arrested in connection with a door-to-door utilities scam which among other people, targeted an 86-year-old Heath woman, the Heath Department of Public Safety announced today.
One of the items stolen was the elderly woman’s husband’s wedding band which police say will be returned to the woman.
The two men were posing as TXU and Oncor employees when they bullied their way into the woman’s home on April 12, 2016, on Smirl Drive in Heath, Texas.
“While inside the resident’s home, one of the suspects had flipped a circuit breaker to shut off the power in one section of the home,” stated the Heath DPS. “While one suspect distracted her, the other stole numerous items of jewelry from her bedroom.”
“It became known that other cities in the area also had victims where two men used the same tactics to enter their homes and commit theft,” stated the department. “Law enforcement in conjunction with Oncor security began the investigation into the matter.”
On April 27, 2016, officers from the Keller Police Department observed two males in suspicious circumstances and made contact which resulted in an arrest of one of the subjects and a search of the suspect’s vehicle.
Police found a safety vest, two-way radios, Oncor and TXU identification cards, and jewelry inside the vehicle.
The Keller Police Department contacted Oncor security who then linked the incident to Heath providing additional information on the case and the identities of two suspects. The Heath victim was then able to positively identify the two suspects as the persons who entered her home.
Heath DPS Detectives Brian Burton and Scott Trammell made the two arrests earlier today, according to the department.
“Further investigation revealed one of the suspects had been pawning numerous items of jewelry for the last several months,” the department stated.
“Among the pawned items was the wedding band belonging to our Heath resident,” stated the department. “The ring will be returned to her possession.”
Police identified the two suspects as Michael A. Mitchell and Michael D. Mitchell.
