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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Thieves Posing As Electricians Rob Silver Valley Businesses Series Of Robberies Friday Similar To Incidents Of Two Weeks Ago

Police are searching for two men who, posing as utility workers, tried to rob at least 10 businesses across the Silver Valley.

The scam works like this: One of the thieves enters a business and tells an employee that there have been power outages nearby. The thief tells the worker to go back and watch the breaker box for problems while he makes repairs.

In the meantime, the faux electrician steals any money he can find. The latest spree of robberies happened Friday, a repeat of similar crimes two weeks ago.

Among the victims are a doctor’s office, a plastics company and a manufacturer of adult diapers.

“We’re still getting reports. I just took one this morning,” said Shoshone County Sheriff’s Capt. Spike Angle. “All through the Valley. Pinehurst, Kellogg and Wallace so far. And Smelterville.”

The men picked the wrong target Friday, when one robbed an accountant at Kellogg Plastic in Smelterville. Julia Steuart’s sister is a forensic artist, and made a sketch based on Steuart’s description.

Both men are white, witnesses report. One is about 6 feet tall, 35 to 40 years old, and weighs about 190 pounds. He has black, wavy hair and blue eyes.

The second is also about 6 feet tall, weighs about 195 pounds and is in his mid-30s. He has short, brown hair; brown eyes and a goatee.

The first man was seen pulling up in a red 1990s Nissan pickup, possibly with Oregon license plates.

Steuart said the man who entered her office Friday afternoon didn’t seem suspicious. “He came in, said there was a circuit problem, and said he needed to turn off the main circuit and turn it back on.”

He then sent her to watch the switchbox to see if any of the switches had shut down. When she came out, he was gone.

Steuart just assumed the repairs were done - until she tried to call her son later. She opened her purse to get her address book, and her wallet was gone.

Steuart said she also saw a gray car, a late-‘70s or early-‘80s model, parked outside at the time of the robbery.

The men knew that she was alone during a pause between shifts there, Steuart said.

A second man tried, unsuccessfully, to rob Bandz Inc. that same day. An assistant working at the Smelterville maker of adult incontinence pads and absorbent products said she suspected a scam when the would-be thief began questioning her.

“He came in, pointing to all the different doors and offices asking if anyone was here,” said the woman, who didn’t want her name used.

The man left after he asked where the switchbox was. The assistant told him “If there’s a power problem, shouldn’t you at least know where the power box is?”

The man then told her he was just a gopher. She asked if he wanted to see the plant manager. He left.

The assistant forgot all about it, until her mother told her a Wallace doctor’s office had the same problem.

Merchants in nearby Kellogg are now prepared - chamber of commerce members have spread the word via a telephone chain.

“When the police call us, we call everyone,” said chamber director Sharon Waldo. “It seems to work.”

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