Downey residents report suspicious door-knocker

DOWNEY – The following was sent to this newspaper by resident Antoinette Mora, who gave  permission to republish her message and use her name: “I live in Downey on Brookshire Avenue near Florence. Last night the door bell rang at around 10 p.m. Luckily, we have a surveillance system as well as an intercom at the front door.

“We looked at the camera and couldn’t recognize who was ringing the doorbell. So via the intercom my mother asked who it was (in English). He wouldn’t answer. My mother asked again and all he said was that he wanted to talk. So we asked who he wanted to speak to. Then he said “I just want to talk.” My mother asked him the same questions in Spanish and he responded the same.

“He was then asked the name of the person that he wanted to speak to. The man asked if the man of the house was home. My dad then proceeded to ask the man what is it that he wanted. He then responded, “I want to talk to you. I want to speak to you face to face.” The man was not angry in his tone.

“My dad became angry and told him if he didn’t say what he wanted that he should leave because he was going to call the police. The man continued repeating that he just wanted to talk. He wasn’t really listening to what we were asking him. So we told him to leave because the police were on their way. He stayed for a few more seconds then walked away.

“We didn’t feel threatened enough to call 911. But a couple of minutes later we decided to call the police and it just rang. We called again and the same thing. So needless to say the police were never alerted. We have the video and should be able to send it to you if you decide to add it to this page. But I hope that you do.

“The most disturbing part of it was that he was asking to see if there was a male presence physically in the home. Since it’s the holidays and people will be expecting guests, I hope that they continue to check to see who it is before they open the door, as well as keep their doors locked. I know that we normally keep the door open when we have guests coming in and out. Trust me, this will change.

“I’m not sure what his intentions were. He did sound as though he were mentally unstable. He was a male between 30 and 40 years old. I believe he was Hispanic/Latino. It was kind of hard to tell how tall he was from the video. He spoke English and Spanish.”

In a statement, Downey Police said Mora actually dialed a number for City Hall, not the police station, which is why the call went unanswered.

“In the future we would ask that if you are faced with a similar situation you call our dispatch directly at (562) 904-2363, or even use 911,” police officials said.

“You did an outstanding job not answering the door for the subject and this should serve as a reminder for all our residents to never answer your door for people they do not know.”

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Published: Jan. 1, 2015 - Volume 13 - Issue 38