Hobart Charges Gypsy Scam Suspect
On July 31, 2020, Hobart Police responded to the 400 Block of Crestwood Drive in reference to a theft from a residence that had just occurred, according to Captain James Gonzales of the Hobart Police. The victim told Officers that she was outside mowing her lawn when a 4 door tan vehicle parked near her residence and short, heavyset Hispanic looking male, who walked with a limp approached her. The victim stated that the male talked his way into her residence, by her statement to Officers, the suspect used a Covid-19 water testing ruse to get her to comply with his request to enter her home. The victim told police that they were inside of her house and he asked her to go get bucket, so she exited her residence and then came back inside, because she thought something wasn’t right about the situation and she told the suspect to leave, Gonzales stated. She stated the suspect left her home and she noticed that her bedroom had been rummaged through and several hundred dollars had been taken.
Due to the nature of the crime, it was assigned to Detective Crawford and he subsequently shared the suspect information with surrounding police agencies. He received a message from a Detective from Oak Lawn Police Department, who was investigating a similar crime within his jurisdiction that occurred a few days before the theft in Hobart. The Oak Lawn Detective told Detective Crawford that he had identified a suspect involved in his investigation and he identified him as Rudy Miller, who drives a tan 4 door Chevy Cavalier. The Detective also stated that the Chevy Cavalier had been recently purchased from a person in Portage, Indiana.
Detective Crawford was able to obtain a photograph of Rudy Miller and he subsequently conducted a photo line-up with the victim. The victim positively identified Rudy Miller as the person who entered her home, Gonzales said.
On August 6, 2020, Rudy Miller was charged through Lake County Prosecutor’s with 1 count of Class A Misdemeanor for Theft. Miller’s last known address was listed at 3633 West Palmer Street, Apt #2, Chicago. Miller has an active warrant for his arrest, if anyone knows his whereabouts, please call 9-1-1 or contact Detective Crawford at zcrawford@cityofhobart.org with the information.
As a warning to potential victims of these types of scams, suspect(s) involved with these types of crimes commonly target our senior population, because they tend to trust people and they are made to feel as if they are complying with an emergency situation. Some precautions that can be taken are:
-If you aren’t expecting visitor(s) don’t answer your door and don’t engage in any conversation with them, be rude if necessary and dial 9-1-1
-Install a video and audio surveillance system on the front of your home or any access point to your home
-If a person has forced their way into your home, seek a safe area and 9-1-1 if possible-If you are outside of your residence and approached by an unknown person, do not talk to them and enter your home and lock the doors and dial 9-1-1
-Get as much information suspect information as possible, especially a physical description and vehicle description
-If possible, do not escalate to a physical encounter, your health and well-being aren’t worth being jeopardized
If anyone has seniors living next door to them and if you notice something suspicious occurring, please assist by calling 9-1-1 and get as much information as possible, you can also take pictures or record the encounter with your phone.
