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Greed causes false report of Robbery
By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
 Ventura County Sheriff's Department Previously, Ana Martinez had reported to Thousand Oaks Police she had been the victim of a robbery. She had claimed an older Hispanic couple had knocked on her door and asked in Spanish for some water. Martinez claimed the couple subsequently entered her residence and intimidated her to remain silent as they took several items of jewelry, a flat screen television, and other electronic items. She claimed the couple loaded the stolen items into a light gray van and fled the area. Press releases were disbursed to the community in both English and Spanish. This was specifically intended to target the Spanish news media since Martinez lives in a predominantly Spanish speaking neighborhood. Due to the media coverage of this incident, a witness came forward and contacted the case agent. The witness said he/she saw a different version of the incident involving Martinez. This new information caused the investigator to believe Martinez was not being truthful with the police. The investigator spoke with Martinez and confronted her with the new information. Martinez admitted she had lied about the robbery to cover the fact she was the victim of her own greed. Martinez said she met and spoke with an older Hispanic couple at a local bus stop. The woman claimed to have a son who was hit by a vehicle and she had several medical bills. The woman further claimed the person who hit her son had dropped a bag of jewels. The woman asked Martinez for help and she agreed because she felt sorry for the woman. The male took one of the “diamonds” and left to get the jewel appraised. The male returned with a stack of cash and said each “diamond” was worth $20,000.00 dollars. The couple asked Martinez if she had any money so she could buy a “diamond.” Martinez said she did not have any money but said she had items of property at her residence she would exchange for one of the “diamonds.” The couple drove Martinez to her home, where she gave them several items of value. She did this believing she would make a significant profit by selling the diamond. A few hours later, Martinez realized she had fallen for a scam. Martinez said she was so embarrassed, she reported the robbery to cover her mistake and conceal what really happened to the missing property from other members of the household. The investigator subsequently arrested Martinez for a misdemeanor violation of 148.5(a) P.C. / False report of a crime. Although Martinez committed a crime, she was still approached and scammed by this couple. The Thousand Oaks Police encourages the public to be careful about the choices they make when presented with any sort of “get rich quick” proposition. Location: 600 Block of Avenida Del Platino, Newbury Park, CA, 91320 |
