ReportWire

Tag: Package theft

  • Queens homeowner armed with bat puts out fake package to nab porch pirate

    Queens homeowner armed with bat puts out fake package to nab porch pirate

    [ad_1]

    QUEENS, New York (WABC) — A New Yorker fed up with porch pirates targeting him and his neighbors decided to take matters into his own hands in what must be the most “New York” way possible.

    Carlos Mejia of Queens got creative after falling victim to a string of package snatchings. He says he and his wife have been victims of porch pirates dozens of times.

    “My wife ordered a jacket that was $1,500 and they took it,” Mejia said.

    Just last Wednesday, his camera caught a man stealing a package with sneakers off their porch.

    In attempt to catch the thief, Mejia put out a decoy package, filled with old French fries, used puppy training pads and dog feces, and armed himself with a baseball bat.

    Sure enough, he got a nibble and reeled himself in a suspected petit larcenist. All of it was caught on camera, a video that has since gone viral.

    Mejia came out with a bat in hand.

    “I wasn’t thinking at the moment,” Mejia said. “It was just anger. I wanted to hurt him. But I know that if I had, I would have been in trouble.”

    So, Mejia held the snatcher there by himself until the police arrived.

    It wasn’t the same man who stole the sneakers, but it was 36-year-old Victor Stazzone.

    At one point, video shows Stazzone trying to get away, but he was ultimately arrested for stealing and trespassing.

    Mejia handled the situation about as well as anyone could, but authorities have always cautioned civilians from engaging a suspected criminal.

    Thankfully, the suspect wasn’t armed, and no one was hurt.

    There is no word on what charges, if any, the suspected porch pirate might be facing.

    Mejia say he hopes the video is enough to make people think twice before swiping packages.

    “Cause today it was me with a bat. That somebody else could pull out a shotgun and not be as nice as I was, you know? And losing your life for $200. It’s not what you want,” Mejia said.

    The New York City Department of Transportation says 90,000 packages are lost or stolen in the city every single day.

    ALSO READ | Half of NYC families lack enough income to survive without assistance: report

    Anthony Carlo has more on the cost of living in New York City.

    ———-

    * Get Eyewitness News Delivered

    * Follow us on YouTube

    * More local news

    * Send us a news tip

    * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

    Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

    Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.

    Copyright © 2024 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.

    [ad_2]

    WABC

    Source link

  • Package theft dispute turns fatal after woman runs over accused thief: cops

    Package theft dispute turns fatal after woman runs over accused thief: cops

    [ad_1]

    An altercation over alleged package theft turned deadly after a California resident ran over the 60-year-old woman she accused of being the thief, according to local police.

    Dene Blakely, 39, of San Pablo, California, is facing murder charges after the December 8 crash. The victim, who has not been identified, died from her injuries on December 23, the San Pablo Police Department (SPPD) said in a statement on Saturday.

    Shortly before 2:30 p.m. on December 8, SPPD officers responded to the 1100 block of Broadway Avenue for a crash between a vehicle and a pedestrian where they found the 60-year-old victim with “major injuries,” according to the statement. The victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition and underwent surgery but succumbed to her injuries roughly two weeks after being hit, SPPD said.

    Newsweek reached out via email and social media on Sunday to the SPPD for comment and update on the case. It was unclear at the time of publication whether Blakely had retained an attorney who could speak on her behalf.

    Dene Blakely, 39, of San Pablo, California, ran over a woman whom she suspected had stolen a package from her home after an altercation on December 8, 2023. The woman died on December 23, and state prosecutors charged Blakely with murder, local authorities announced on Saturday.
    San Pablo Police Department

    Police “quickly learned” that 39-year-old Blakely was behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck the woman after a “verbal altercation” over the theft of packages had escalated, the SPPD’s press release said.

    “The suspect believed to recognize the victim as someone who had previously stolen a package from her residence, and confronted the victim as she walked in the 1100 block of Broadway Avenue,” the department wrote.

    Investigators believe the pair’s altercation became heated and resulted in the subsequent collision, according to the statement, which noted that evidence shows the crash was an “intentional act of assault.”

    Police did not clarify at the time of publication whether the victim stole any packages or if it was a case of mistaken identity.

    Blakely was arrested at the scene without incident and was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon, SPPD said.

    Several days later, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office filed formal charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, following a review of the criminal case, SPPD said.

    After the victim died, the District Attorney’s Office amended the complaint to include a criminal murder charge.

    Newsweek reached out via email on Sunday to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for comment.

    Blakely remains in custody at the Contra Costa County Jail on a $1 million bond. She’s due back in court on January 30, 2024.

    SPPD said that the investigation is ongoing.