Official seal of Placentia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As children, we are taught to trust the police. However, on Tuesday night residents in Placentia, California learned the hard way to not trust all city employees. On Tuesday, a man in a blue polo shirt gained entry into homes by telling residents that there was a broken water line that was causing contamination and he would need to enter the home to run tests. In reality, the man was not a city employee, but simply a man with intent to burglarize.

The scheme went like this, one man would distract residents regarding the contamination while two additional men entered the home with the resident’s consent to “run tests.” However, the suspects were caught in the act at the first house by a housekeeper and were forced to flee.

At the second home, a mile away from the first, the resident told police that the main suspect stayed outside with him while the others entered the home. The main suspect communicated with the suspects inside via cell phone walkie-talkie.

Golden State Water Co. contacted police after hearing about the incident as none of their employees were working in that area.

Both suspects are described as 35-40 years old Hispanic males. Police are advising resident to have anyone claiming to be from a utility company show identification before entering.

Anyone with information regarding the burglaries are urged to call the Placentia Police Department at 714-993-8164.