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SOUTH SALT LAKE — South Salt Lake police were working to find a thief who was caught on tape leaving a home with a package that had been delivered to the front doorstep.
The theft took place Nov. 20 at a home near 3575 South and 300 East. However, some suspect a larger pattern because neighbors recently reported other deliveries vanishing.
“It was a little kick in the gut,” Billy Lewis said of the November theft outside his home. “I’m watching a guy come on to our property in the middle of the day, grab our property and walk off with it, and there was nothing I could do about it.”
Lewis was at work at the time of the theft. He received an email notification from his home security service that contained surveillance video of the theft.
“As soon as a certain number of pixels change, it starts to record,” Lewis explained.
The video shows the unidentified man approaching the front door with Tupperware and a spoon in hand, then leaving moments later with a package that had been left by a delivery man at the door just over an hour earlier.
“We thought, you know, a camera would be a great deterrent,” Lewis said. “Unfortunately this guy didn’t even notice that he was being filmed. He never once looked up.”
Lewis passed the footage on to police, who are now trying to locate the man. He is described as 6 feet tall with a thin build, dark hair and dark facial hair. In the surveillance video, he was wearing sunglasses, a black T-shirt with a white logo and jeans.
“People are watching,” South Salt Lake Police Executive Officer Gary Keller said. “You never know where they are and if they have surveillance cameras, so beware if you’re thinking about doing this.”
Police said these types of cases are on the rise with delivery men making their holiday rounds. They’re urging people to minimize their risk.
“If they know a package is coming in and they know they’re not going to be there, try to make arrangements with a neighbor or a friend,” Keller suggested. “Have somebody else pick up the package when they’re delivered.”
Delivery services offer additional options — some for a nominal charge.
UPS, for example, offers “My Choice” customers the ability to instruct drivers where to leave a package, or have the package rerouted to another address or to a local UPS store. If an initial delivery time is not optimal, the package delivery can be rescheduled or rerouted for a $5 fee.
In Lewis’ neighborhood, at least two other neighbors believe they’ve had packages stolen, according to Lewis and police.
Lewis, for now, is focused on making his camera more of an effective deterrent.
“We were thinking about one of those signs that says, ‘Smile, you’re on camera,’ but we haven’t quite gotten that far yet,” Lewis chuckled.
Anyone with information about the thief is asked to call South Salt Lake police dispatch at 801-840-4000.
