Good Samaritans robbed of over $4000

A family was robbed of over $4,000 when they tried to help someone they thought was in need.

A family of good Samaritans said they were robbed by a man they tried to help a man they thought was in need on a hot day.

City of Imperial resident Wilma Smith said they were only trying to do the right thing when they gave a ride to a total stranger they picked up at Eight Street and Commercial Avenue. They were coming out of a business after paying some bills when the man approached them.

“My son met a guy in there and he came to the car with us and asked for a ride. It was a 117 degrees, so, I said ok,” Smith said.

She had just taken out over four thousand dollars for medical bills. Once inside the car, the man saw the money inside an envelope. He asked Smith if they could take him to the Roberta Hotel. When they got there, he asked for another favor.

“I have a bunch of money on me. I don’t want to take it in the motel because I’m afraid that they’re going to rob me. Hold my money and I’ll get back to you in fifteen minutes. And he was going to give my son twenty dollars for holding his money. He takes the money out of the envelope, puts it together with his, ties it in a bandana and hands the bandana back to me,” Smith said, explaining what happened inside the car.

When the man left the car and walked towards the hotel, Smith went looking for a place to park to wait for the man.

“When I got to Fourth Street from the Roberta motel, I actually had my son take it out and take a look at it and we realized then my money was gone and all we had was a package of newspaper,” Smith said.

She they went back to the hotel, but the man was gone already. Some people outside told Smith the man had left in a taxi cab.

Smith said it devastated the family to lose the money.

“It means a lot to my family. We were going to try and catch up on some bills and had plans to have dental work done and…”

The man is described in his mid-thirties, Afro-American, with a dark complexion, a shaven head; he’s about 5-foot-7-inches tall, weighs about 167 pounds and spoke with a Jamaican accent.

The smith family is asking the community if they have any information on the suspect to please contact the police. That money was for medical bills.