Thief

[sigep1764]

Lately our packages have been getting stolen off our front porch. Missus ordered a SimplySafe camera for the porch. Two days ago, the camera recorded our package being stolen. He was dressed in black but his sleeve was rolled up and I caught a tattoo on his left arm. I had no idea what was in the package, the wife orders so much.

Missus posts the image on the NextDoor app and gets a response from a neighbor who knows him. I get home from a rough day in a hard month of work. I’d been cut off twice on my motorcycle on the way home and was in no mood. I heard her say the address and I saw red.

I marched 7 houses down and rapped on the door. There he was in the same clothes. I told him I had video of him stealing packages and knew his tattoo. He had two options, give me the package or he could talk to the police, and that he was lucky I hadn’t grabbed him and smashed his hand already. He handed over the contents of the package, a green sweatshirt maybe worth $10. I said I don’t ever want him near my porch again, he agreed and apologized. I went home to a wife who was both proud and worried. I wondered, after I calmed down and had a cheeseburger, if the danger or the sweatshirt was worth it. Fast forward two days later to this morning. I get a handwritten note left on my door apologizing and thanking me for having a backbone. It also contained a commitment to change.

I have no idea if he will change. Still don’t know if it was worth it. But I felt better for having done it.

[rbuck351]

You know that situation could have gone very wrong. I'm glad it worked out well for you. What I might have done would probably not have been legal. If you had gone to the police, they probably have told you there was nothing they could do.

It was probably the same guy that took the other packages as well.

[farmbif]

I'm all for bringing back punishments from the past such as, tying to a pole for public stoning in front of courthouse. what ever happened to gallows being set up in front of courthouse, putting thieving idiots in a hanging cage for public viewing, and other punishments we no longer see in practice?

[Hannibal]

You would think thieves would learn to identify security cameras, but if they were smart they wouldn't be thieves to begin with I suppose.

[Hondolane]

I wish I could agree that you did the right thing. I doubt that he's going to change and more than likely will hit other people's mail in the future. A thief will always be a thief.
I'd have shown the cops the video and asked them to go with me to house. One for protection and two to impress on him the cops were now aware of him.

[atr]

1746...
Be careful...perhaps have a good friend go with you next time. Or better yet a patrol officer.
best
atr

[GregLaROCHE]

I’m not for public hangings, but think some sort of public humiliation would be good for piety crimes.

[dverna]

Never good to come up with a plan when you are angry and tired.

I would have let the LEO's handle it. You never know what kind of lunatic you could be dealing with.

[abunaitoo]

I'm sure he is still stealing for the area.
He just doesn't steal from your home.
Not really solving the problem.
I'd vote for a public hanging!!!!

[MUSTANG]

He may avoid your doorstep (maybe maybe maybe) but will continue to prey on your neighbors. Given the out of control and escalating crime in the USofA; perhaps it's time for some Old Timer Wisdom:

http://www.wdtprs.com/images/tar_feathers.jpg

[Snakeoil]

I tend to agree that making decisions when angered is fraught with risk. Glad it turned out well. I would like to believe you may have turned his life around. The note might be an indication that you did. But then I could also argue that the note was a way t help assure that you didn't call the police. Personally, I hate calling the police on neighbors. That's the kind of stuff the Soviets encouraged their citizens to do. But some cannot be dealt with in any other way.

[Rockindaddy]

Good for you Sigep !!! Thieves mostly have never heard of the Ten Commandments! Three years ago I hired a couple of farm workers. Treated them well. Even gave them gas money after I noticed my lawn mower gas was disappearing. Paid them on time every week and would tip them and gave them gas money. So I had a little talk with them. Advised them that their honesty and my integrity was at risk. Told them I hated thieves. Put em on notice that I would prosecute any thievery. If they needed something talk to me and maybe I could help. The one kids car broke down so I loaned him my pickup for the weekend. It came back with an empty tank on Monday morning. Went away for a few days with my wife. Came back to the farm to find two motorcycles missing, my lawn tractor, Tools, chainsaws, and a small safe full of guns! The local police did a decent job of recovering alot of the guns and motorcycles. But $16K worth of tools and stuff never came back. Our rural County in Pennsylvania is tough on crime. The two did three years in jail and now they are out making restitution every month. If more district attorneys in the liberal cities were as tough on crime as Washington County PA is on crime; maybe cities like LA, Seattle, Chicago, Baltimore, Philly, and New York would have the good residents staying instead of leaving the Democrat run cities. Perhaps the porch pirate you shook down will straighten out! Maybe!

[john.k]

been three murders on the street here by teenage marauders in two months.....the courts got his stupid idea that they cant be put in jail.......twenty convictions for housebraking,burgulary ,car theft .....get out on bail .....murder a person on the street next day..........and still the lawyers and 'child experts' are making excuses .

[Outpost75]

We had problems with porch pirates until I started packing the cat box scoopings in Amazon boxes and leaving them out.

[almar]

we don't have porch pirates here. And iffen we do, they don't ever show up again anywhere, bless their hearts.

[elmacgyver0]

we don't have porch pirates here. And iffen we do, they don't ever show up again anywhere, bless their hearts.

This may be in jest, but I like your attitude.

[Plate plinker]

This may be in jest, but I like your attitude.

Guessing his neighbors don’t fool around. I like the OPs attitude. The problems we face today is nothing is handle the old way.

[Hannibal]

We had problems with porch pirates until I started packing the cat box scoopings in Amazon boxes and leaving them out.

Ya know, that sort of thing is tempting but I figured the low lifes would come back and set the house on fire or something.

I'd rather put an air tag in something they'd take with them and go from there.

[Milky Duck]

chocolate coated cat biscuits in lunch boxes worked at school....
good on you for up front actions
HOPEFULLY he will change his ways....possibly he is in need of an even break ,if you know of job going locally,maybe drop a note in HIS letterbox etc.... but I like to see the good in people.
and shift camera.

[Land Owner]

Still, wait a month and ask around without being specific (avoid a charge of slander). Perhaps the thieving has stopped. The letter though is a bonafide admission of guilt. Hang on to that. You sir, were lucky on many fronts (knew of him, found him, confronted him without violence, and got what appears to be a satisfactory response). That level of "decompression" after a hard day is tough to evaluate.

[georgerkahn]

We had problems with porch pirates until I started packing the cat box scoopings in Amazon boxes and leaving them out.

Fortunately for me ;) we moved away from "civilization" to get away from pirates, etc.. My sister/b.i.l. stayed, and after losing a quite costly set of micrometers (b.i.l. was a toolmaker) he put both their dog and cat excrement in boxes. Shortly thereafter the piracy stopped! While I lauded the "genius" at the time, I frankly would be too "a-scared" vis the perp's retribution. Walter -- a next-street neighbor rang police on two youth -- 14-16 yr olds -- who were shooting b b guns on Spike, Walt's dog. He and his wife went away a few weeks later, returning to fund a cellar window broken with their garden hose -- turned on -- filling their finished basement with water! The perps were never "caught" albeit Walt was pretty certain it was those two boys...
I am happy I need not make decisions re "what to do" in similar paradigms...

[technojock]

I had an amazon package porch pirated a month or so back. I called the police and gave them the video of the perp. He was Wearing a hoodie so his face was hidden but it was easy to see that he was coming from the house next door. My plan was to ambush him with a shotgun the next day when my next delivery was do. My grandson spilled the beans by telling his roommate my plans but that stopped the theft problem. Later on the thief brought back the cheap computer part I had bought with a note written in crayon claiming it was found in their back yard.

Later on I spoke with the roommate and told him it was too bad my grandson had spilled the beans since I was looking forward to ambushing the thief with my shotgun. He asked if I was going to use rock salt and I said no, buckshot. I said the thief would have the option to eat dirt or eat lead. I'd had enough of the BS from that house and I had no tolerance left. I had an opportunity to speak with the home owner and he claimed that he was evicting them and complained of how long it was taking. Anyway they're leaving me alone now...

Tony

[Land Owner]

There is a community bulletin board, Nextdoor, on which folks post neighborhood events, happenings, classified ads, work requests, recommendations, FB-like "look at me" stuff, etc. My local community of compressed quarter-acre-ish lots (I hope to move to a 20-acre rural setting, but crime is a different order of magnitude out there), is pretty good about passing the word where thieves are lurking, where they hit last, what they looked like, what they were driving, etc. Most homeowners have security cameras, motion lights, and too much stuff unsecured and stored outside. All call the sheriff and report.

Hearing Ring alarms or seeing the activation of motion lighting in the dead of night, in a backyard, a hooded figure "casing" there by flashlight, many confront the circumstance with gun in hand. No one has caught anyone. No one has shot anyone.

I caution them to beware the legal "baloney-slicing" between protecting property (don't shoot, trust no one, call LE, verify everything) and the confrontational escalation to "fear of great bodily harm" (shoot first and answer questions later). Thieves are a nasty lot. Knowing, in general, they likely won't get shot emboldens their larceny.

I think we have Trial Lawyers to blame for less legal protection of the law-abiding taxpayer. The meme though is correct - criminals commit less crime after they have been shot.

[10x]

been three murders on the street here by teenage marauders in two months.....the courts got his stupid idea that they cant be put in jail.......twenty convictions for housebraking,burgulary ,car theft .....get out on bail .....murder a person on the street next day..........and still the lawyers and 'child experts' are making excuses .

There is a catch and release legal industry that is making a profit by farming criminals.
As the criminal population grows there are more calls for gun controls to allow criminals to operate without fear.
Apparently there seems to be a professional courtesy that the legal industry offers to criminals.

[Rp-]

This reminds me of years ago when I lived in San Diego. I pulled out of my complex and my car was hit by an egg. I chased down one of the kids and he wasn't talking. Once I mentioned "I usually carry a gun on me" his demeanor immediately changed and he was all too cooperative. I almost laughed but this boy was maybe 12 or 14. He sure thought I was going to shoot someone that day. But it was California and you can't carry guns there unfortunately. Anyway, the parents of 3 kids paid to have my car buffed where the paint chipped. That kid that threw it must have had an arm on him to chip the paint.

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[Outer Rondacker]

I live in the mountains but have a resort area minutes away. We get all the freeloading none working grrr dont get me going. Anyway I had a small issue with some packages going missing since Fedex drivers would just drop it by the end of my driveway. 1400+ feet long with no house in sight. Figured it had to be some hippies driving bye. One day one of the neighbors was coming over to ask for help and saw the delivery guy taking a picture of the box on the ground and returning to the truck with it. Needless to say my neighbor walked him all the way to my door by his ear. Have not lost a package since.

I say good for you. Yes it could of gone bad but so can any situation. I am not going to say what you should of should have not done as its all based on the moment and scenario. I will say if these young bucks would of got the belt when they did wrong early on in days I do not think we would be in this boat. Put hand on hot stove you wont do it again type of thing.

[super6]

Here in SC I had a UPS delivery, I saw the truck coming so was aware there was a drop, Low and behold here comes a black pickup that had been following that truck! I saw what they where getting ready to do and welcomed them to my deck with a 38 S&W. I have never seen any one run that fast!