An elderly Mira Mesa resident says he fell victim to a con last week while walking with his wife in their neighborhood. The robbers made off with an expensive piece of heirloom jewelry.
The victim, an 85-year-old Filipino American named Henry, who wished to not be identified on camera in fear of retribution, worries for others in the neighborhood who might also fall victim to this scheme.
In an instant, Henry’s necklace was switched with a cheap imitation while still wearing it around his neck.
“It hurts because he lost something so sentimental to him after having it for 30 years,“ Henry's granddaughter Maria, who translates for Henry, said. “It was the first necklace he bought from his first salary."
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Two strangers — a man and woman driving a black van — approached Henry and his wife while on their daily walk just after 11 a.m. on Thursday. Henry says they were asked how to get to the Good Sheppard Catholic Church. Then, the two offered Henry jewelry and cash.
“She was like hugging him, kissing him and like distracting him, I guess, while putting on that necklace, and I guess that’s when she stole that necklace,” Maria said.
Eighteen months ago on Kenova Street, not far from where Henry was robbed, a 72-year-old Vietnamese grandmother had her necklace stolen in a very similar way. She was just steps outside of her home. The whole thing was recorded on a neighbor’s security camera.
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At that time, the San Diego Police Department's Financial Crimes Unit was investigating dozens of similar complaints.
"This is particularly predatory," San Diego Deputy District Attorney Scott Pirrello, the head of elder abuse prosecutions, said in an interview with NBC 7 in January 2023. "These suspects are going out into our community, and they are hunting. They are looking for the most vulnerable victims they can locate."
Ultimately, in that series of robberies, 13 people were convicted on federal charges connected to transnational organized crime. Police were looking for nearly 30 others whose faces were published in a press release.
While police have made no such connection, Henry and his family can’t help wonder if a menace of the past has returned.
The victim estimates the value of the chain and cross to be around $1,500. NBC 7 reached out to SDPD's Financial Crimes Unit but did not hear back.
