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Robbers pose as Mormon missionaries, make off with cash, electronics

Posted at 12:45 PM, Aug 20, 2013
and last updated 2013-08-20 21:06:42-04

By Dana Ford

CNN

(CNN) — They look like typical Mormon missionaries.

Dressed in black pants, white shirts and black ties and carrying backpacks, the two men walk up a driveway and step though a gate.

But their mission was anything but godly, say Las Vegas police, which released images of the men on Tuesday.

The two are accused of posing as missionaries to rob a family home.

They knocked on the victim’s door asking to talk about religion, police say. After about five minutes, they allegedly jumped and punched the homeowner.

“Something went around my neck. A hand went around my mouth, and I screamed for my wife,” Terence Delucia told CNN affiliate KTNV.

His screams woke his wife and daughter. Both reportedly hid in their closets.

The two men took about $3,000 the family had been saving for a trip to Disneyland, along with three iPads and an iPod, KTNV reported.

Then they fled.

Police describe the first suspect as a white male, between 22 and 28 years old, 5 feet 7 inches or 5 feet 8 inches tall, and 130 to 145 pounds.

The second suspect is a black male, between 22 and 28 years old, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall, and 190 to 210 pounds.

Kristen Howey, a spokeswoman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, called the crime “senseless.” The robbery took place on the morning of June 27.

“Thankfully, impersonating missionaries is very rare,” she said.

CNN’s Amanda Watts contributed to this report.

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Anyone with information is asked to call the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Robbery Section at (702) 828-3591, or Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555.