Suspicious character knocking on doors

This email alert came to me from Judy Sherrod with a request to post it to our site

Dear WEB Neighbors,

This is not a joke. Today I received a call and an email from a neighbor about the following important information:

"Late this morning, a man on a bicycle stopped at our neighbors (1431 Edgemoor) to "introduce himself as a new neighbor;" however, our neighbors were not at home but someone in the house said they would be back later in the day.

The man then came to our house (2715 Lake Chevy Chase Dr, on Pikes Pond) and "introduced himself as a new neighbor who had just moved into a house on Edgemoor ... but, he had a problem with his car and did not have cash for repairs & gas, etc." He offered to work for cash and to repay it. My husband was not home and part of the man's story sounded plausible; I did give him a small amount of cash and he biked off.

When my husband listened to my story, he was not happy that I had believed the person; we checked the address given (1024 Edgemoor) and it does not appear that anyone is moving in there. Later in the day, I spoke with Public Safety who re-iterated all the precautions one should take if a stranger comes to the door. I should never had opened the door and should have just turned him away immediately ... and called Public Safety right away if I thought there was something suspicious.

Several calls went back and forth to the immediate neighbors alerting them to the situation. The man did return next door in the late afternoon and used the same story ... but ... a slightly different name in claiming to be a new neighbor.

So, be aware that a person has been in the neighborhood trying to get some cash. With me, he used the name Edmund (Ed) Campbell; with the neighbors, he used Edmund Harrington.

He is African-American, maybe 35-40 yrs., has a slender build, approx. 5' 7", wearing glasses (today). He was quite pleasant to talk with and seemingly quite earnest.

The neighbors said that this afternoon, he was not as "together" as he was in the morning. Perhaps he wants the money for drugs ... and that could be a bad situation.

H.G. Piatkowski
2715 Lake Chevy Chase Dr."

Please use caution. Do not answer your door to strangers. Do not give money to strangers in the neighborhood. Call Public Safety 337-8139 for suspicious people in our neighborhood or 337-8120 for non-emergencies. Please call me if you have other suggestions or concerns.

Linda Wienir, President, WEB Neighborhood
381-3497