“Dear PoPville,
This guy just caught an opportunity to steal a brand new Breast Pump. Neighbors should be on the lookout as you can see the box was unmarked so the contents were not clear either. Pretty disappointing and hopefully this is a one off and not going to be a new normal.”
“Dear PoPville,
Does anyone have any advice on how to reach out to a package thief? Has anyone been able to get a package back? Find a stolen package? I’m at 18th and T NW, and a package disappeared that contained family heirloom pillowcases from Turkey — they looked like the above. I’m sure a package thief was disappointed and tossed them. Or are things being sold somewhere? Can I find it somehow? Any thoughts?”
Thanks to Darryl for sending from Facebook
I’m starting to get an email a day about another incident. If you’re not gonna be home you may wish to find alternative methods.
Here are a few: (more…)
“Dear PoPville,
My wife and I were wondering if our baby daughter’s new fall and winter clothes had arrived yesterday and were surprised to not find them on the porch. We looked back through the footage on our camera and discovered that a package thief had walked right on up and taken them at about 2pm on Tuesday afternoon. A minute prior, he could be seen walking up the street, saying hello to our neighbor, and then exclaiming that he “forgot his keys” and walking away back towards the nearby grocery store. (more…)
Ed. Note: To be honest, the whole thing just makes me sad. Obviously package theft is maddening and frustrating, and maybe I’m reading too much Humans of New York, but after reading the flyer I feel a bit bad for the guy. Obviously, he shouldn’t be stealing. Of course. Let me be crystal clear – stealing is wrong. But I’m wondering, why is he stealing? What got him to this point? Maybe he is a selfish jerk or maybe he’s had a really tough life and is in a bad spot.
Anyway, I’m just depressed about how divided our city has become and it feels like it’s getting worse. I’m left with this nagging sadness. I hope this guy stops stealing. I hope he can be healed. I hope our city can be healed. I’m not terribly optimistic at the moment. I’m going for a walk.
A reader reports reports from Trinidad:
“Cool it, Morpheus just gets me every time I read it. Transcript below…
Have you seen this man?
Seen on camera swiping packages at 4pm on 3/27
He puts them underneath his out of style leather jacket.
Seriously are you an extra in the Matrix? (more…)
2018 ladies and gentlemen. 2018 cont. Thanks to Michelle for sending the update from USA Today:
“The creator of a viral prank video which claimed to shame porch thieves using a high-tech glitter bomb has admitted that some of the reactions in the video were faked.”
I posted this as a comment response to my recent viral tweet/video but I’m posting it as a new tweet as well: pic.twitter.com/g2VHsQWh1z
— Mark Rober (@MarkRober) December 20, 2018
“Dear PoPville,
This guy stole our packages on Christmas on Warder st! One package was a gift from my friend :(
Also, take a look at his IKEA bag! We definitely were not the first house!”
It’s not quite glitter bomb revenge awesome but it’s pretty great. Here’s to small victories! Thanks to Lucy for sending from Capitol Hill.
hahaha thanks to LJDinDC for sharing from Upworthy:
“That’s right, once the thieves opened the stolen package, their car or homes would be assaulted by one full point of glitter and a fart spray device that emitted a synthetic gaseous smell every 30 seconds. And it would be posted online for the world to see.”
You gotta watch it: (more…)
“Dear PoPville,
Thank you for this post. I recently moved to Trinidad and really love this neighborhood. I live on a street where people watch out for each other.
The person shown in the pictures below was caught stealing on camera around halloween outside of my neighbor’s house. Then my neighbor saw him days later stealing across the street. The police arrested him after he was identified and they found packages in his backpack.
He was held for 17 days and then let back on the street. (more…)