Alameda Real Estate Agents Raped, Then Sets Up Rapist For Arrest
We have talked a great deal on this site about real estate agent safety. Either from the elements or providing the tools to be safe when showing homes. One real estate agent in Alameda County, California took another extreme when showing homes. She was attacked by a potential buyer, who police found out had just gotten out of prison. Instead of fighting the man, she befriended him thinking of exacting vigilante justice, but instead led him to the police.
It is a fine line between being paranoid and being safe as a real estate agent. You do not want to get into the mindset that your clients could be attackers and treat them warily, but at the same time trying to find the right balance could save your life. Systematizing your contacts with clients and putting safety precautions in place that are regularly followed can lead to your experience as a real estate agent being safer.
The woman, who works as a real estate agent, was showing a home in Alameda County on Aug. 16 when the prospective buyer attacked her, Nelson said. He declined to say where the incident happened, because that could identify the victim.
The assailant choked the woman, raped and robbed her, Nelson said. During the attack, the woman started to befriend him “in an attempt to gain his trust,” Nelson said.
The woman told him she wasn’t going to call the police and would try to help him, Nelson said. She even went as far as to promise to arrange a job interview for a security or bodyguard position the following day. The woman later told investigators that she had set up the interview so “she could exact vigilante justice on him,” Nelson said. “The victim was afraid the suspect would not be sent to prison for the crime.”
She ultimately decided to call the sheriff at the urging of a relative who had worked as a police officer, Nelson said. When Moore showed up for the supposed job interview at a Starbucks in Hayward, he was met by sheriff’s deputies, Nelson said. via the SFGate.com
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Comment by Charity on 29 August 2007:
well that’s what we call versatility.. For the rest who work in the field just take extra care and take this as an example for precautions. God BLess to all Ü
Pingback by San Francisco Realtor Takes Self Defense Class | Luba's San Francisco Real Estate Blog on 11 September 2007:
[...] about all kinds of scary things that happen to us, REALTORS®. A short while ago in Alameda County, an agent was raped while showing a home. Over the years, I have heard of several horror stories. In fact, between 1982 and 2000, more than [...]
Comment by Rosalie on 13 February 2008:
What the story about the agent raped and robbed in Alameda County didn’t say is that the perpetrator in this crime had been told by a fellow inmate that real estate agents were easy pickins’. They have a car, money and are usually alone in a house.
The Agent 911 sounds like a good product but every real estate agent, in my opinion, should be carrying at least a pepper spray pen or a stun gun cell phone. It still takes time for the police to arrive and you need to be able to protect yourself/or escape from the predator. I have over 30 years experience as a police detective and I know of what I speak. All of my real estate agent friends carry a personal protection product. Be safe, not sorry.
Comment by Gary Parks on 29 January 2009:
A great new tool for real estate agents is The Panic Alert, which my wife uses. It turns your cell phone into a silent alarm. All she has to do is press one button on her cell phone and the police and her office are immediately notified. She was showing a home and felt threatned and pressed the button on her cell phone. The police went to her office and they told her where she was and got there. Luckily there was no harm done, but she feels much safer showing apartments and home. All of the agents now subscribe it.
Comment by Henry on 19 February 2009:
I bought my sister this cell phone that is a stungun and pepper spray ring from this site http://www.topnotchsafety.com/pretender-cellphone-stun-gun.htm. She’s also took up self defense class.By the time a cop gets there it may be to late.Now I feel somewhat better that little sis have some kind of protection. I’ thinking about getting her the taser, I probably get one first.