Disguised robber targets Fresno woman

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Neighbors in the Pinedale area are reeling Friday after a man pretending to be a Pacific Gas & Electric representative robbed a woman in her own home.

The armed robbery happened Friday morning near Fir and Ingram Avenues when a robber in disguise targets a Spanish babysitter.

Investigators say the vulnerable victim was bound and robbed at gun-point before he took off down the street.

Emilio Vargas Jr. was the first to find her. "I looked out, and she had her hands behind her back," he explained. "And he had tied her and then she started crying out loud and said 'help me.'"

Police say the suspect played the part of a PG&E employee. He had a green shirt with company letters and pretended to check gas lines when he got inside.

Before she could escape, investigators say he grabbed her by the throat and tied her up, demanding money she kept in the house. "Over $12,500 in the house that she had saved for 15 years of babysitting that she had in the house in a box," Lt. Joe Gomez of the Fresno Police Department said.

Luckily the victim and the baby she was caring for weren't injured.

But her neighbor says she's terrified the suspect will come back. "I say call 911 first thing and she said 'no, no, no' and I said 'why not?'" Vargas explained. "And she said because they promised to kill me if I called the police."

The victim says she didn't know the suspect but it appears he did know about the money she kept in her house. Investigators don't know yet if this is a random attack or an isolated incident.