Package thieves strike again in Tacoma, Lake Forest Park

TACOMA, Wash. -- Package thefts are a problem all year around, but it’s especially an issue during the holidays. From Lake Forest Park to Tacoma, thieves have been caught on video stealing holiday cheer.

A modern day Grinch is caught on camera stealing packages off Malcolm White’s front porch in East Tacoma. Tacoma Police say they are investigating, and White says the only reason he has a surveillance camera monitoring his home is because his packages weren’t just stolen once but twice last week.



“It’s pretty upsetting,” said White. “We thought that the surveillance camera would be a good deterrent. I was at work when I saw the video, and it ended up being kind of a helpless feeling to just see someone take your stuff.”

Christmas presents were among items lost, and White isn’t alone. Lake Forest Park Police are looking for a theft suspect you see in this video. First you’ll see the carrier drop off the package and about 15 seconds later the thief is on the porch, making off with the goods.

“We have a white male who is riding a mountain bike and he’s going house-to-house looking for packages,” said Lake Forest Park Police Detective Tony Matthews.

Matthews said with the holiday season, package thefts aren’t crimes just limited to his Lake Forest Park Police Department or Tacoma’s. It’s why he’s asking neighbors to watch out for neighbors.

“We’d love to get every bad guy that commits a crime,” said Matthews. “It’s very annoying for us, and we don’t have time for an officer to follow a UPS truck all over town so we just ask for the public to help us out on this.”

For White, packages will be sent to his work -- that way the Grinch can’t steal anymore from his Christmas.

“I think that just the fact that they can feel it’s OK to take things that don’t belong to them, especially in this season to capitalize on other people like that, it’s just sad,” said White.