WATCH: Stockton 'Candy Salesman' Sets Up Armed Robbery, Suspects Still Sought

STOCKTON (CBS13) -- Four male suspects are wanted after they were recorded ambushing a Stockton homeowner in an armed robbery, one of them posing as a candy salesman to get the homeowner to open the door.

It happened Monday in the 10300 block of Joplin Lane in Stockton just before 2 p.m. The homeowner, a 39-year-old woman, answered the door to who she believed was a candy salesman. He was wearing a medical face mask and was holding a box of large candy bars, according to video released by Stockton police.

The homeowner gives the so-called candy salesman cash, expecting a candy bar in return but instead, three males with ski masks over their faces, armed with guns, run towards her front door. The fake salesman moved out of the way, and three more suspects entered the home. In total, Stockton Police confirm four male suspects are sought.

A Stockton Police Department Spokesperson said the female homeowner was told to lay on the floor while the suspects, described in their late teens or early twenties, stole personal belongings and then ran off.

Meanwhile, Ring doorbell video captures the fake salesman standing at the front door. He takes out his own black ski mask and puts it over his face, but takes it off seconds later and walks away from the front door.

This wasn't the only attempt the four suspects made in the neighborhood, according to SPD. In Ring security video obtained by CBS13, the fake candy salesman knocked on multiple doors before the armed robbery.

One of those situations was caught on security video. The neighbor who took it said he wanted to remain anonymous because he fears the suspects will return.

"At that moment, nothing was going through my head, I just thought they were someone selling candy," said a neighbor. 

He said he did have small suspicions something wasn't right when he saw the supposed salesman wasn't facing the front door, but instead, had his back turned.

"What if I had opened the door? What if I would've decided to buy some candy? It's definitely put me on situational awareness," said a neighbor. 

The neighborhood was described by multiple neighbors as being safe. This crime is an anomaly, according to James Johnson, who lived in the development for seven years.

"These kids had hit the whole block," Johnson said, explaining he alerted neighbors to the various attempts caught on Ring videos near his home.

The Stockton Police Department is asking anyone with information to call the non-emergency number at (209) 937-8377 or the Investigations Division at (209) 937-8323. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Stockton Crime Stoppers:
  • TALK - Call Stockton Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600

Police report the suspects are three Asian male adults and a Black male adult. They drove off from the scene in a black SUV.

Stockton Crime Stoppers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
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