Newark Police investigate suspicious person portraying city employee

3:16 p.m., Oct. 14, 2015--Newark Police are investigating an incident in which a man representing himself as an employee of the city of Newark gained access to a residence.

According to police, around 9 a.m., Oct. 13, a man knocked on the door of a house in the unit block of Center Street in Newark. The resident, a 20-year-old female University of Delaware student opened the door, and the man said he worked for the city of Newark and needed to access her basement to check the heating unit. Wearing a blue jump suit with "Newark" on it, he had a clipboard with papers on it but did not show identification. 

She let him in, and he went to the basement for approximately two minutes. He then left the house and walked toward Main Street. Nothing was missing from the house, and a neighborhood canvass revealed that he did not contact any other houses.

The resident’s landlord confirmed that she did not send anyone to the house to check the heater, and the city of Newark did not send any employees to the house.  City of Newark employees rarely ask to enter someone’s house and generally arrive in a clearly marked city vehicle. Residents should call the police if they have any concerns about someone asking to enter their house. 

No surveillance footage of the suspect is available at this time.

Anyone with additional information on this incident should contact Officer Alex Whitt at 302-366-7100 ext. 3483 or alex.whitt@cj.state.de.us . Anonymous tips can be texted to 302NPD, with the message to TIP411.  Information can also be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or at www.tipsubmit.com, where a reward may be available. 

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