BERKLEY, Mich. (WXYZ) — Two porch pirates in Berkley were arrested after a neighbor called 911. It happened just before 11 a.m. Sunday as the two suspects were allegedly following a delivery driver, picking up packages moments after they were delivered.
Inside the suspects van, police found multiple stolen packages believed to be from multiple metro Detroit communities. Police say they likely stole the items over a number of weeks.
“(I got) an email from FedEx and says your order, we have delivered it. Shows a picture of the package on the porch so I say, 'OK, that was cool,'" Berkley resident Maureen Gillis said. "I go out and there’s nothing on the porch.”
When Gillis noticed her package went missing just minutes after being delivered, she contacted FedEx assuming there was a mistake by the driver. But the next day, she realized she fell victim to a porch pirate.
“I'm just looking through my Nextdoor app. It says 'Anyone in this area, are you missing any packages?'” Gillis said.
It turns out around the time her package was delivered, one of her neighbors noticed two people that appeared to be stealing packages. That neighbor called 911 and police found a light brown van and one of the suspects was wearing a ski mask. Police say they appeared to be following a delivery truck.
“The residents are the reason this was solved,” Detective Lt. Andrew Hadfield of the Berkley Police Department said. "This witness that provided this information was huge to this success.”
Hadfield says when officers pulled the van over a few blocks later, they found 20 items that appeared stolen. He says the two suspects in the car admitted to stealing six to seven of them in Berkley.
“Inside the car, there were numerous items strewn about including the packaging," Hadfield said. "They were opening them up to look at it, see what was inside and then from there, determining what they were going to keep and reselling that online.”
The arrests came just one week after a different suspect was also caught on camera in Berkley, as porch thefts begin to rise in the holiday season.
“The problem in metro Detroit is huge," Hadfield said.
Although her name and address was torn off the package, Berkely police found Gillis’ package in that brown van. It’s a Christmas gift for her son-in-law that she’s still able to give. Only now, it has an interesting story behind it.
“I hope he likes it after all this,” Gillis said with a laugh.
“The smile you get back from a resident to get a package back is amazing," Hadfield said. "It's a little gift of Christmas we get to regift to them, so that felt good.”
If you believe you had a package stolen, be sure to contact your local police department.
