Two men followed a Columbia City woman into her apartment building and robbed her Sept. 23, according to the police report. The robbers snatched her $800 gold necklace and ran, she told police
The woman, who speaks limited English, told police through an interpreter that she had returned from work around 9:30 p.m. and gathered her bags from her car. She saw a group of black men across the street, and one of them followed her to the building entrance. Because her hands were full with her bags, she used the powered automatic door button to get inside, which allowed the man to enter the building behind her.
When she went to check her mail, she noticed the man waiting by the elevator, but he had not pushed the call button. She got scared, so she left the building. The man followed her, saying something about the elevator button not working. Once outside, he called to one of his friends in an African language, the victim told police. The friend began running over to them, and she went back into the building, using the automatic door again.
They followed her back into the building. She asked the men if they live there. One man said his mom did. She pushed the elevator button and the doors swung open. One man grabbed her necklace and yanked it off, scratching her and ripping her shirt. They both fled.
She told police the necklace is about 18 inches long and made of 14 karat white gold. It has a white gold pendent with three blue-colored jade stones and is worth about $800.
