Police on the hunt for suspect in robbery
By ALEXANDRA BISSONNETTE Special to the Daily Press
22nd STREET As 86-year-old Marion Nelson stood on her hydrangea-lined porch Monday morning recalling how she was tied up and robbed last week, it was clear that she was drained from her harrowing ordeal and the loss of her 50th anniversary diamond ring.
“It’s been a horrible experience,” said a visibly shaken Nelson, who lives alone.“I just thank God I’m alive.”
Police, who released information on the crime Monday, suspect that the intruder broke in early Friday through a window on the side of Nelson’s home.
Nelson said she woke up in the middle of the night to take her medications when she Stolen treasures: Robber targets elderly woman came upon the intruder. He rummaged through her things, taking cash and valuable jewelry, police said.
Nelson was left unharmed, but the intruder made off with many of her valuable possessions.
The senior is the latest victim in a string of home-invasion robberies on the Westside in recent weeks, the suspect targeting elderly women living alone, entering through unlocked windows or doors. SMPD detectives could not say whether or not Nelson’s case is connected, however, they are investigating the possibility.
The suspect in the previous crimes is described as a black male, 6 feet tall, 200 pounds and 25 to 35 years old, who wore dark clothing and gloves. Nelson could not give a full description of her assailant.
“He had a hood covering his face, so there was no way I could ID him,”Nelson said.“He said if you cooperate with me I won’t kill you.”
Although the robber had no visible weapon, Nelson was frightened and cooperated with the man.
“What choice did I have?” she said. According to Nelson, the intruder tied her up with her own blouse and told her not to move until he had finished robbing her home. The suspect took all of the money in the house and Nelson’s gold and diamond jewelry including the diamond ring that she and her husband designed for her.
“I’ve been here since 1940, and I had so much old jewelry,” Nelson said. “They were things I wanted to give my grandchildren.”
Police suspect that the intruder broke in through a window on the side of the house. What is suspicious, Nelson said, is that several screens — including one that covered Nelson’s back door — had been ripped or cut during the days prior to the robbery. Nelson didn’t know what caused the damage.
Nelson’s son, Bob Nelson, is now staying with her to help her through the investigation and to help her improve security on the house.
To ensure that she is never the victim of another robbery, Nelson plans to install a security system that will sound alarms when screens are ripped or moved in any way.
“I have security bolts everywhere in the house, but because I want to adjust those windows, I didn’t have any,” Nelson said of the window where the intruder is thought to have entered.
Bob Nelson was pleased and impressed by how the neighbors supported his mother following the break-in.
“Everybody in the neighborhood rallied around my mother,” he said. “But I’m sick at the thought that a simple motion light might have stopped it.”
He was referring to the fact that the window through which the intruder is believed to have come through is on the side of the house with no motion lights.
Nelson’s neighbors are being more cautious and police are warning residents to make sure they secure all doors and windows, especially during the night and when they are not at home.
“Naturally I am concerned,” said Kaz Yamamoto, who lives across the street from Nelson. “But, you can never tell, crime happens wherever you are.”
Nelson has several suspicions about who may have broken into her home. Her house was being painted earlier on Thursday, and she wonders whether someone from the painting company decided to come back and rob her.
Regardless of who the intruder was, Nelson is happy to be alive.
“My daughter told me I did the only thing I could have done,” Nelson said.“She told me ‘we’d rather have you than any jewelry.’”
Nelson and her son are currently working on increasing her safety and talking to police to follow up on the investigation.
“I just have to tell myself to keep going,” Nelson said. “So that’s what I do.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 22, 2008. Read the original PDF.