A search was launched Friday for a suspect who bound two women inside their Escondido home on Thursday afternoon, according to San County Sheriff’s deputies.
The man approached the women’s home in the 2300 block of Felicita Road and Montecito Drive around 4 p.m. claiming to be selling cleaning products, said Sheriff's Lt. Maria Wood.
“He looked like a decent enough guy,” said Sgt. Mark Haynesworth. “He had a flyer, some type of orange flyer, advertising the products he was selling. He looked harmless enough to allow him in.”
The man reportedly demonstrated some products in the home’s entryway and then asked if he could do so in other areas of the home.
Once inside the home, the suspect and two women wound up inside one of the bedrooms, at which point the suspect pulled out a knife and tied both of the victims up, Haynesworth said. It was thought that the suspect grabbed the knife from the home’s kitchen.
The suspect reportedly searched the home and left.
The women had been tied up in the home for 3.5 hours before they were found, according to our media partner the North County Times.
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Both of the victims, who share the home, were unhurt and nothing was taken from the residence, Wood said.
The incident has left neighbors in the area shaken.
“[We're] definitely going to keep our eye out even more and make sure our door our locked,” said nearby resident, Erick Gordon.
Meanwhile, others thought about the crime’s timing.
“I think it’s scary it can happen this close,” said Courtney Hall, “to have somebody trusted and welcoming them into your home...especially this time of year when you think the holiday season prevails.”
A motive for the crime was not disclosed and no suspect was in custody as of Friday.
