Police search for man who swiped woman's ring
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police are looking for a man who posed as an exterminator and robbed a South Florida woman of her engagement ring.
"He took a chunk of skin out of there," the woman said as she pointed to her finger.
Last Thursday a man swiped a 2.2 karat diamond engagement ring off her hand. "I said, 'You bastard, what a thief you are,'" she said.
The 79-year-old, who didn't want to reveal her identity, said she was returning from the store, when she saw a man holding a bottle, pretending to spray for ants near her garage inside her town home complex. "I said, 'I don't have an ant problem, get out of here,'" she said.
The man didn't leave. Instead, he entered her home and sprayed some more, before spraying her hand. "He said, 'That's acid.' It wasn't acid, it was water," she said.
The man then took her into the bathroom and washed her hands. "He was really soaping it up to be able to get the rings off, which is the next thing he did. He pulled the rings off," she said.
The woman was also wearing a wedding ring , which the man had her soak in milk. He said it would remove the acid from the ring. That's when she said he ran off with the engagement ring.
This latest heist is similar to a couple of other cases that occurred in Broward County. On Feb. 2, a man posing as a water inspector stole a $100,000 diamond ring. The thief stole the ring after spilling what he said was also acid on the woman's hands. Then in December, another woman broke her foot fighting to keep her ring. The man slid it off with greased gloves. Police are investigating to see if the crimes are linked.
Police said the man in Thursday's heist may have struck before. "I want him in jail, doing hard labor," said the elderly woman.
If you have any information on this robbery, or if you think you've been victimized by this man, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.
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