Porch pirates & auto thieves violating stay-at-home order
KING COUNTY – Chances are you’ve ordered a box or two since the stay-at-home order kicked in. You may be waiting on a package now.
Police in Lake Forest Park are reminding people at home to retrieve packages as soon as they arrive.
Just this past Monday night, he said a man in his late teens to early 20s stole a package from a pregnant woman’s door front.
“People are turning to online shopping for critical items, and it’s especially egregious for someone to violate the governor’s stay-at-home order and exploit this situation for their own profit,” said Detective Craig Teschlog with Lake Forest Park Police.
The man caught on Ring video is wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the word “Good” on the chest. Turns out, Brier Police have Ring video of the same guy wearing the same sweatshirt, and you got it, committing the same crime in their city back in January.
People are practicing social distancing, and we’re seeing online shopping, including grocery shopping, is up at the moment.
Detective Teschlog is urging people to get to their packages before the crooks can grab them.
“You can sign up for text alerts that tell you when your package has been delivered, you can also give delivery instructions and you can also install a locking parcel drop-off at your residence.”
The King County Sheriff’s Office said home burglary figures are down with the current order, but deputies suspect other crimes of opportunity will increase.
On March 23, a pickup truck that holds sentimental value to the owners was taken in brazen break-in and burglary. It was all caught on surveillance video at the family’s RV storage lot near North SeaTac Park.
“It’s sentimental, because of all the happy memories and outings that took place, because of that truck and the people, the family that went in the truck and it`s just, having it for a long period of time, it grew, it`s like one of the family, the truck is,” said Merill Ames. “It’s so creepy and icky and that they were so brazen to come in over the lunch hour and do that and disrespect the property rights here, as well as the ownership, to be pulling off a criminal act in the daylight is just totally despicable.”
Police say if you see suspicious activity or behavior, give them a call. If caught, the suspects could be charged with a misdemeanor for violating the stay-at-home order.
If you recognize the package thief in the “Good” sweatshirt, give the Lake Forest Park Police Department a call at 206-957-2861
If you can identify the suspect in the surveillance video who stole the pickup truck in SeaTac or know anything to help detectives locate him, Crime Stoppers will pay you a cash reward of up to $1,000. Just call the hotline at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477) or put in a tip through the P3 Tips app on your cell phone.