Woman recounts fear of man who stole from her - and residents of several senior living facilities

A Jacksonville senior living resident lost more than $13,000 in jewelry and $7,000 from her credit union account after a man posing as an electrician entered her apartment in August.

Police arrested 27-year-old Javaris Johnson in October in connection with thefts targeting at least four senior living facilities and more than seven victims.

According to Action News Jax, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested Johnson after finding he was impersonating a maintenance worker at several senior care locations. Johnson faces multiple counts of burglary and theft stemming from the incidents across Jacksonville.

Evelyn Motel, a resident of Discovery Village Deerwood Independent Living, recalled the afternoon in August when the imposter arrived at her door.

“He said he was from the electrical department, that he had some outlets that he needed to check,” Motel said. “I didn’t think anything of it.”

After spending 10 minutes in her bathroom, the man took items collected throughout Motel’s 58-year marriage to her late husband, including a wedding ring she had taken off for a medical scan the previous day.

Police reports estimated the stolen jewelry was valued at more than $13,000.

“He cleaned me out of everything I had in there, all the jewelry and everything my husband had bought me more than 58 years,” Motel said.

The man then offered to assist Motel with her mobile phone under the pretense of preventing future maintenance visits.

“He says, you now, I can put an app on your phone if you would like,” Motel said. “That way I won’t have to come in again if something goes wrong. With today’s technology, I thought it was OK.”

During that interaction, Motel said her VyStar Credit Union card was stolen from the wallet attached to her phone case. She discovered the card was missing several days later after visiting a credit union branch to get a printout of her monthly statements.

“Seven times, they took out one thousand dollars,” Motel said. Motel said the fear of the suspect returning continues to affect her daily life.

“If I had have gotten my wheelchair or walker and went to the sticking my jewelry in his pockets or something, he might have hit me in the head and killed me,” Motel said. “I haven’t slept good since it happened.”

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