Burglary suspect posed as PG&E employee

A middle-aged man posing as a PG&E employee reportedly committed a burglary in Mountain View late last month, stealing jewelery from a home he claimed to be inspecting for the utility company.

The victim, an 86-year-old woman, told police that the suspect approached her home in the 2300 block of Adele Avenue and rang the doorbell around 10 a.m. on Friday, July 28. She said the man was wearing a uniform and claimed to be a PG&E employee, and said he needed to go in the backyard to measure wires, according to police spokeswoman Katie Nelson.

The woman told police she directed the suspect through the side yard and initially watched him before going inside. The man left the residence through the side yard a few moments after she went indoors and left in an unmarked van.

Confused by the fact that the man was using a vehicle that was not issued by PG&E, the woman checked her home and discovered her wedding ring, located inside her bedroom, had gone missing, Nelson said. She called her daughter about the suspected burglary, and the daughter contacted police a short time later.

The suspect is described as white man between the age of 40 and 45 years old, 5-feet-8-inches tall and between 170 and 180 pounds. He was clean-shaven with black hair and brown eyes.

PG&E advises residents to ask for identification before allowing anyone claiming to be a PG&E employee into their home, and to call the utility company’s customer service line at 1-800-743-5000 to verify there’s a scheduled appointment or a reason for PG&E representatives to be in the area. Anyone with an appointment will receive an automated call within 48 hours of the visit or a personal call from the PG&E service representative prior to the visit.