SAN ANTONIO – “Porch pirates” seem to abound this time of year, stealing newly delivered holiday packages from doorsteps and porches.
Take it from Jacob Stricklin and another homeowner still so nervous she wanted her identity concealed.
Both live in subdivisions in west Bexar County, where they said the NextDoor app has similar stories.
Not only was Stricklin’s gift from his parents taken from the doorstep, the thief walked through the front door that was left unlocked.
“I assume he was going to rob us blind,” Stricklin said, until the young man in his twenties saw Stricklin’s wife sitting at the dining table.
He said the suspect was wearing a grey hoodie and a blue and red cap, then ran out and drove away in a silver Dodge Magnum with temporary plates.
Stricklin said after his wife called him, he was furious, “just to know somebody walked in our front door, where we live, where we’re supposed to feel safe.”
He said at that point, they were unaware anything had been stolen, until UPS sent an email notifying them a package had been delivered.
The gift was an engraved knocker for their front door.
Stricklin said he had to call his family in Florida, telling them, “Thank you, mom and dad. I’m sorry it got stolen.”
He said they were just relieved no one was hurt.
Having taken the Thursday afternoon off, Stricklin said he waited for the gift his parents were re-sending. He also made a sign for the front door, “Please knock for delivery.”
Stricklin said he even came up with a “trap” to alert him if and when there is a next time.
He propped up a box against the front door with a string attached that was tied to a long lighter. If someone tries to carry off the box, it yanks the string, and the lighter falling on Stricklin’s tile floor is the signal.
The woman who wanted to remain anonymous has her “porch pirate” on a surveillance video. She said she was at home taking a nap, so she didn’t see the woman caught in the act until about an hour later.
It shows her actually pulling up onto her front yard in a tan Ford Excursion that she said had “aftermarket rims and low profile tires.”
The woman can be seen running up to the front door, scooping up the package with gift towels from the homeowner’s grandparents, then getting back into the SUV and driving away.
“Our son’s neighbor saw it happen,” she said. “They made eye contact.”
She said the woman was spotted about an hour later, tossing boxes in the street.
Roseanne Hughes, spokeswoman for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, said stories such as that aren’t surprising given the number of people ordering gifts online.
Hughes recommends making arrangements in advance with the Postal Service, UPS or FedEx, to not make any deliveries unless someone is home.
She also suggests tracking the shipments, or asking neighbors to pick up the packages for you.
Hughes said it also comes down to neighbors watching out for each other.
She urges them to be on the lookout for suspicious vehicles “that you really don’t know who they are or what they’re doing in your neighborhood.”
She said video surveillance cameras also can be very helpful especially if they capture the suspect’s face, vehicle or license plate.
Hughes said the Sheriff’s Office has a specialized unit of investigators handling these and other property crimes.