ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – St. Petersburg police caught a person Tuesday they say was caught on camera stealing packages from homes on 22nd Avenue SE.
On Dec. 6 the suspect took multiple packages from two homes, police said.
The St. Petersburg Police Department shared video on Facebook of the brazen porch pirate. The culprit takes three packages, one at a time.
“Yes, I did feel violated. I felt angry. But right away, we decided, you know what? We are going to ban together as a community and this isn’t gonna happen in our neighborhood,” victim Joyce Kepto said.
Kepto said the stolen items were soccer balls intended to be donated to people in Haiti.
Kepto’s next steps helped solve the crime. “We went around, my husband and I, to the neighbors with the video, and we showed it to them and said, ‘Seen anybody like this? This is going on, ya know. Be careful,’” she said.
The local letter carrier stopped in his tracks after seeing the footage. “He said, ‘I know who this guy is and I know where he lives, just a couple of blocks over,’” Kepto said.
St. Petersburg police arrested the teen shown in the video. He confessed, and police said they found some of the stolen items and empty Amazon boxes.
“Every holiday season, we see an increase in this,” St. Petersburg Police Department Spokesman Rick Shaw said.
Cameras work wonders.
Here’s another tip. “Have the services (that) deliver your package put it behind fence, a bush, somewhere where somebody walking by on the sidewalk is not going to see it on the porch unattended,” Shaw said.
The Old Southeast neighbors have a message for would-be porch pirates. “We just feel like it’s a great community story, pulling together, got the guy. I’m so excited,” Kepto said.
