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A Midtown resident who invited a woman he met online into his home early Thursday morning was robbed at gunpoint minutes later by a man believed to be her accomplice, Palo Alto police said.
The robbery occurred shortly after 1 a.m. on Thursday in the 700 block of Sutter Avenue, just off of Middlefield Road, according to a police news release. The resident, who’s in his 30s, reportedly called the police at about 1:30 a.m. to report that someone had just robbed him of his laptop and thousands of dollars in cash.
A police investigation revealed that the man met a woman online and invited her to his home at about 1 a.m. Shortly after she came to the residence, the man heard a knock at his door. When he opened the door, a man brandishing a silver handgun entered the house and took a laptop computer and an envelope containing several thousand dollars. The armed man and the woman then left together, according to the police.
The resident could not say whether they left in the same car, which direction they fled to or which vehicle or vehicles they used.
Police believe the armed man and the woman were working in concert, the news release states. There have been no similar incidents reported recently in Palo Alto, according to the police.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Police Department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
Do people actually invite someone they have just met on the internet into their home? Do people actually go into the home of someone they have just met on the internet?
This shows exactly why not!
They swiped and left. The victim should have swiped left.
This may have been a case of purchasing “services” or “goods” online for delivery *in* the home.
The old way of meeting someone is better. In a bar, face to face, drunk. Today, of course, you need to be wary of someone spiking your drink.
Unless he hired a “lady of the night” a woman willing to show up at 1:00 a.m. on a weeknight at a stranger’s home — someone she met on the internet is a red flag. An envelope with several thousand dollars cash? Was that the “fee,” or does he leave that much cash in the home?
This outcome was well within the range of possibilities. Thankfully no physical harm except bruised egos? According to the internet, there is an 400+ year old saying that “ A fool and his money are soon parted.”
This is one of those stories that causes whiplash. Why not suffer the loss in silence instead of exposing yourself as having done the inexplicable?
Seriously now, “a man met a woman online and invited her to his home at about 1 a.m” Do you think they were planning to watch a movie? To discuss politics? I feel no sympathy for this guy, no repercussions for him, but the woman will do time if caught, even though she is the real victim (and likely will do much more time than Lizzy Holmes) And then there’s this “Police believe the armed man and the woman were working in concert” Now that is some serious sleuthing. Book em Danno!
I think, though I’m not sure, if you get robbed at home your homeowner’s insurance will cover you, but you have to submit a police report to get reimbursed for your losses. If that’s the case, I’m not even sure if the insurance will cover you because you invited the “guest” into your home. Either way you have to file a police report to start your claim. As for an envelope just sitting around for the crook to see it and grab it, is unlikely. But a prostitute would definitely want to see that you are ready to pay for the service you asked for. I’m sure the complainant is fully cooperating with the police and turned over the online communications file to explain why he invited someone to come to his house at 1 AM.