By Megan Trent
BROAD RIPPLE, Ind. (October 21, 2014) – A man from south Broad Ripple is hoping his home surveillance video will lead to an arrest, after a man was caught on camera stealing a package off his porch.
The homeowner, who prefers to be referred to only as Kevin, says the theft happened Sunday at 4:07 p.m. at his home on Winthrop Avenue. The video shows a man knocking on the door before picking up a package and taking off. Two other individuals can also be seen in the background.
“I was home and I heard someone knock and I really didn’t think much of it. Later that day I was thinking, I should have received my Amazon package. I checked Amazon.com and sure enough, it showed that it was delivered. So then I went into my video feed and tried to check it out, and there was the video of the guy just taking off with my package.”
Inside the package was an Amazon Fire TV, a device for streaming web content worth about $100. IMPD officers say the suspect is around 30 years old. In the video he was wearing a tan jacket and black pants. Police say all three individuals in the video left in a light blue Chrysler van.
“Why take the time to just come through a neighborhood for a package, and you don’t even know what’s inside of it? It’s just pointless crime,” says Kevin.
Kevin has lived in the home for more than a year and says, while it is a relatively safe area, another crime in the area when he first moved in prompted him to put up surveillance cameras.
“One of my friends got broken into about a year ago and they were able to catch them using video footage, and so that very next weekend I went out and bought a security system myself and installed it and haven’t had to use it until now.”
He’s hoping that footage comes in handy and generates tips.
“With this many eyes looking at it, I can’t believe he is going to get away with this for much longer.”
John Skinner lives right across the street from Kevin. He was shocked by the brazen theft.
“It’s just really sad that something like that would happen to anyone. Nobody wants that in their neighborhood,” says Skinner.
Skinner shops online frequently and says this theft won’t prevent him from having packages delivered to his home.
“No, I’ll still do it, but I wait and watch for them too.”
After living in the neighborhood for more than 30 years, Skinner says he keeps an eye out for suspicious activity. He hopes anyone with information about the package thief will also step forward and contact police.
“That’s just not fair and they need to be caught, all three of them,” says Skinner.
Tips can be called into Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.
As for Kevin, he’s planning a few more upgrades for his home surveillance system.
“I am going to be putting up cameras all around my house,” he says. “I think now if you even come close to it then I will be getting a shot of you.”
Kevin’s video, posted on YouTube, can be seen below:
