Miami Cops: Fake Gardeners Will Rob Your House

Geez, who can you trust these days? Definitely not those friendly neighborhood landscapers trying to give you a free estimate on your lawn, according to the Miami PD.Last week, grandparents Santiago and Gladys Rodriguez answered the door at their Coral Gables home just off Coral Way to find two men...

By Tim Elfrink

December 12, 2008

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "19274298",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17482312",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482310",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482313",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Geez, who can you trust these days? Definitely not those friendly neighborhood landscapers trying to give you a free estimate on your lawn, according to the Miami PD.

Last week, grandparents Santiago and Gladys Rodriguez answered the door at their Coral Gables home just off Coral Way to find two men who said they'd come to give an estimate on yard work.

While the unsuspecting couple took one guy out back, the other started ransacking the house, said MPD spokesman Napier Velazquez in a release sent to Riptide. The pair communicated by walkie-talkie and ran off in a white Toyota Tundra when the couple's granddaughter came home and interrupted the crime spree.

The same guys are suspects in similar burglaries around Miami Beach and Palm Beach, Velazquez says. And -- just in case your newfound fear of landscapers isn't enough -- their repertoire apparently goes beyond playing gardeners: they've impersonated maintenance workers, construction dudes and water and sewer employees in their other escapades.

-- Tim Elfrink

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Miami New Times has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.

Tim Elfrink is a former investigative reporter and managing editor for Miami New Times. He has won the George Polk Award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

Contact: Tim Elfrink

Follow:

Twitter: @timelfrinkmia