Man Bearing Bouquet Robs Tarzana Home : Crime: Victim allowed burglar, posing as flower deliveryman, and two accomplices into his house.

Just because someone comes to your door with flowers doesn’t mean they’re friends; just ask the victim of an armed household robbery who opened his door to a man with a bouquet, police said Thursday.

A man posing as a flower delivery person got a Tarzana man to open the door to his apartment Wednesday night and then ransacked the place with two accomplices, stealing cash, guns, jewelry, coins and as much as $60,000 in artwork, police said. Also reported stolen, police said, were two stuffed cobras.

“Who would want those things?” asked Los Angeles police Lt. Joseph Garcia.

Obviously, the thieves did. Police said the three suspects also appeared to know enough about the house and its inhabitants to demand that they turn over their guns and show them the apartment’s safe, said Lt. George Rock of the LAPD’s West Valley robbery unit.

In all, Rock said, the victims said they were out $78,000 in cash and goods. Although at least one victim was bound with duct tape, there were no injuries. Police said they had no suspects.

The holdup in the 18200 block of Oxnard Street occurred at 7:45 p.m., after a man at the door announced “flower delivery” to the victim, identified by police as Oleg Mirsakov, 36.

Mirsakov opened one door that led to his foyer and went out to meet the man, who was bearing flowers. After the robber tried to push his way through the main door and into the apartment, Mirsakov pushed him back but at least one of the two other men suddenly appeared, produced guns and forced their way inside, police said.

The robbers grabbed Mirsakov by the hair, placed a gun to back of his head and demanded to know the location of the household safe. While one robber watched Mirsakov’s wife, Galina, and their 5-year-old daughter, the others took Mirsakov around the apartment to find the valuables.

Mirsakov reported that one suspect warned him not to call police, because they knew where he lived. And he said he heard the doors to a heavy van closing, but that when he got the tape off and went outside, no vehicles were in sight.

Police could not locate the Mirsakovs on Thursday to ask them more questions, Rock said.

“What’s interesting is that the suspects seemed to be more sophisticated than the average robbery suspects in that they were looking for specific things to take,” Rock said.

And, Rock added, few robbers pose as flower deliverymen.