VIDEO: Porch pirate takes off on bike with packages

ARVADA, Colo. — When you order something online, you expect it to arrive safely to your homes, but that hasn’t been the case for a lot of people in the metro area.

Last year, Arvada police received 67 reports of porch theft. This year, that number sits at 59, but according to detective David Snelling with Arvada Police – 2024 is set to surpass last year.  

“I know there’s fatigue with these kinds of incidents, but they need to report it because we find these things on the back end and it may not be something valuable to other people, but it’s obviously of some value to these folks,” said Snelling. 

The most recent case happened September 28. The RING camera videos shows a woman pulling up on a bike, grabs the package and leaves. 

Snelling said the owner of that package did everything right, they called a friend to pick up the package but the lady caught on camera arrived first. 

“They’re taking these things off people’s porches, and they don’t know what they are, and they don’t even know if they want them.” said Snelling. 

Geno Somma has lived in the area for years and recently caught the same woman on a bike and stealing his package. 

“I got a UPS notification that it would he here Saturday at 4:30 p.m., and I was out of town with my fiancé, so I messaged a friend Sunday and he said the package wasn’t there,” said Somma. “People work so hard for what they have and then you have people who will take it right from the front porch. Go do something with your time, go do something different, that is the worst kind of person right there.” 

Stealing packages is nothing new for the metro area, but according to Arvada police people are not reporting each theft. Even if the package is not valuable, you should still report it. 

Snelling said reporting the stolen package makes it easier for office to track the items and hopefully return to the owner, if the package is found. 

In one case, Arvada Police investigated a burglary and recovered hundreds of pieces of mail and other items, totaling around 500 victims.

Most of these thefts have occurred near the area of 55th and Wadsworth or in high density area, such as apartments, according to Arvada Police. 

Amazon prime deals will start next week October 8-9 and the holiday season is around the corner, so officials recommend to have packages delivered when you’re home, send it to a delivery center, or have a locked box on your patio. Try to limit the time that the package is on your porch.