Phony pest control workers pilfer Davie woman’s family heirlooms

DAVIE, Fla. – A Davie woman is hoping to get her family heirlooms back after two men posing as pest control workers stole priceless pieces of jewelry from her house in June.

Between June 15 and 20, Linda Sampson said two men claiming to be from her pest control company showed up at her doorstep near Southwest 18th Court and 145th Avenue.

“I open the door and there were two gentlemen,” Sampson said. “There was a taller white man, a little on the hefty side, not obese, but a little heftier, and a shorter Black man with him.”

Sampson considers herself trusting and said she had a lot on her mind at the time. Plus, she said, the two men showed up right around the time she usually gets her pest work done. So she thought nothing of letting them in.

“I remember thinking ‘I wonder why two are here? He’s probably mentoring him, showing him the ropes,’” she said.

But that was not the case.

Instead, while one of the men talked with her and distracted her, the other pretended to spray the home, stealing jewelry from a box in Sampson’s bathroom.

“There was a beautiful bracelet with my sister’s name, Laura, and it was in cursive writing, full of diamonds,” Sampson said.

Sampson said the thieves also made off with her mother’s diamond necklace and her grandmother’s gold watch, items she inherited after family members died.

She said it was a week later when she checked with her real pest company, who confirmed they never sent anyone out when she realized she had fallen victim to a crime.

Now, Sampson has a message for those thieves.

“There is good in you, you were not born to live this kind of life,” she said. “I do ask you to consider returning my stuff or at least letting me know where it is.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.


About the Authors:

Joseph Ojo joined Local 10 in April 2021. Born and raised in New York City, he previously worked in Buffalo, North Dakota, Fort Myers and Baltimore.

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.