East LA woman’s necklace with daughter’s ashes stolen – NBC Los Angeles

An elderly woman in East Los Angeles Monday pleaded with a thief who stole her jewelry that no amount of money in the world could buy: Please return the necklace that contains her late daughter’s ashes. 

In a theft that resembles distraction scam, Esther Guerrero, 75, lost her precious necklace last Monday. Guerrero said it happened when she was approached by her would-be thief, who got out of a white car, in front of her house.

The woman, Guerrero said, asked for directions to a pharmacy. After the elderly woman gave her directions, the woman thanked her, trying to give her cash and a ring. Guerrero refused.

Then, according to Guerrero, the alleged scammer told her that her mom was sick, asking for Guerrero to pray for her. The woman then put a necklace around her neck and took off, Guerrero said. 

When her husband noticed Guerrero’s necklace was missing, she realized the thief swapped her necklace with a cheap chain.

“The lady had cut it from me in three seconds,” Guerrero recalled in Spanish.

The 75-year-old said she’s distraught over the stolen necklace as it has the ashes of her daughter, Veronica Garcia Guerro. Her daughter, a retired deputy with the LA County Sheriff’s Department, died seven months ago in a crash in Idaho. 

“The cross has a screw, and inside they placed my daughter’s ashes, and I always carried it with me on my chest,” Guerrero explained.

She said her son-in-law gave her and her husband the matching gold cross necklaces with wings – both containing the ashes of their daughter.

“My daughter at the sheriff’s department helped a lot of people. Now I need help,” Guerrero said. 

The mother and grandmother asked whoever has the necklace to mail it to her or drop it off at her door — with no questions asked.

“Bring it back, please,” Guerrero said. “It’s all I’ve got for my daughter.”

The LA County Sheriff’s Department confirmed a theft report was taken last week, and detectives with its Major Crimes Bureau is handling the investigation.

No arrests were made as of Monday, according to investigators.

Authorities have been warning about a series of organized distraction thefts and robberies that primarily target elderly Hispanic men and women.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, two suspects — a man and a woman — walk toward the victims or approach them in a rented vehicle during daylight, asking if they needed prayer, requesting directions, or complimenting them on their jewelry.

“Once engaged, the suspects offer the victim a `better’ piece of jewelry,” according to a police statement. “Using a sleight-of-hand trick, they place fake jewelry around the victim’s neck while simultaneously stealing the real piece.”

The LAPD has offered several tips to prevent being victimized:

• Avoid engaging with strangers who approach from inside a vehicle;
• Report suspicious activity, including unfamiliar vehicles that linger in residential areas. If possible, document the license plate number and note a description of the suspects;
• If you become a victim, avoid handling the fake jewelry with bare hands to help preserve potential DNA evidence; and
• Continue to inform and assist the elderly community, who generally do not monitor social media and are not always accustomed to following crime prevention tips.