Three men accused of posing as Santa Clara County Water Company employees in an attempt to steal from elderly Santa Clara residents may be connected to similar crimes carried out in San Jose, Deputy District Attorney Cherie Bourlard said today.
Santa Clara police arrested Tommy John, 41, Barney Mendes, 35, and Nicky Garcia, 18, also known as 24-year-old David Marino, after an elderly woman suspected the ruse and called the water company.
The alleged scam was carried out Jan. 12, when John knocked on the door of an elderly couple's home and said he needed to check pipes in the backyard, according to the district attorney's office.
The older man took John and Mendes to the backyard, and Garcia entered the house.
Garcia was not aware that the elderly woman was inside the house, and told her he needed to check the kitchen sink when she confronted him, Bourlard said.
Garcia apparently told the woman to bang on the pipes as part of the ruse.
"In the middle of that she realized, you know what, this is a hoax," Bourlard said.
The woman decided to call the water company and confronted Mendes, who motioned to his alleged accomplices before they fled in a pickup truck.
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Police responded after a neighbor called 911, but Mendes allegedly evaded officers by running stop signs and speeding, the district attorney's office reported.
After briefly losing police, the men exited the truck, Bourlard said. Garcia allegedly attempted to hijack a taxicab, but police eventually caught up to and arrested all three suspects.
The men were arrested on residential burglary charges and attempted theft of $400 or more from an elder, Bourlard said. The residential burglary charges apply because the law only requires that the men had the intent of committing a felony before entering and allows accomplices to be charged.
Bourlard said San Jose police reported 26 or 27 similar water company ruses about a year and a half ago. One man was prosecuted in connection with at least one of the crimes about a year ago, and investigators now believe John, Mendes and Garcia could be connected.
"We feel this new crew might be responsible for more of these burglaries or even these attempted burglaries," Bourlard said.
Bourlard said she hopes elderly residents know to call 911 if a stranger appears at the door.
"Hopefully from our outreach presentations our elders are a little more wise," she said.
John, Mendes and Garcia are scheduled to enter pleas in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.
