SEBASTIAN – There’s been a lot of door to door suspicious activity this week in Sebastian, Vero Lake Estates, Vero Beach, and other neighborhoods in Indian River County.
Earlier in the week, there was a male in a silver SUV going door to door selling laundry detergent near 26th Avenue in Vero Beach. The subject disappeared after a citizen called the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
There have been multiple reports in Vero Lake Estates of people going door to door to sell things. Several residents near 101st Avenue alerted others about a man trying to sell floor cleaner. A salesman asked one homeowner to put his dog away, which was suspicious. When the homeowner closed the door to calm his dog, the man ran back to his car and sped away.
Then another resident reported a similar incident an hour later.
“They just left about 10 min ago. I didn’t answer. Rang door bell 4 times, banged on the door. I said who is it 3 times he didn’t respond. Then he got in a small dark gray chevy with 2 other men. Dressed in a white dress shirt and tie. Pretty adamant about ringing the doorbell and banging on my door,” A Vero Lake Estates residence wrote on Facebook.
A day later, a Sebastian resident said someone knocked on her door to sell floor cleaner. Another resident said someone was knocking on the door multiple times as if to find out if the home was vacant.
We then found out that door to door solicitors are required to have a permit in Indian River County. Indian River County Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Eric Flowers said residents should call them in.
“Door to door solicitors are required to have a permit/license from the county. They are required to wear a lanyard with credentials. When this happens, someone needs to call them in. We will do our best to stop them if they are in violation. Rarely are they ever on the up and up,” Flowers said.
In areas like Barefoot Bay, north of Sebastian in Micco, soliticing is prohibited.
Some residents fear that thieves are trying to stake out homes while people are at work. There have been cases of this activity in the past in areas of Vero Beach, Vero Lake Estates, and Sebastian.
At this time, there have been no reports of break-ins related to the door to door salespeople. They could be legitimate, but ask about their credentials.
