Homeowner chases porch pirate moments after package delivery
UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) – For the second time in three weeks a package was stolen only seconds after the delivery driver set it down on someone’s porch.
Unlike the first theft, the suspect did not drive away from the home.
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The thief in this case, wearing a zip-up hoody, shorts, and a blue medical mask, was chased down the street through the neighborhood by the homeowner and his dog, leaving the getaway car behind.
Mary and Mason Landrum live near Old Henderson Road in a cul-de-sac. They were expecting a brand-new iPad, with all the bells and whistles, to be delivered Wednesday. The iPad was a gift for their son, an artist, who could use the iPad to create his art. He’ll have to wait a few days for a replacement. The thief left behind the car, but still made off with the iPad.
The FedEx truck arrived around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.
“We saw the FedEx truck pull up, so we just, when he rang the bell, we went to the door to grab the package, and before we could even get the door open, someone ran up to the porch, swiped the package and took off running,” Mary Landrum said. “I was standing there stunned and my husband immediately bolted out the door and started shouting, ‘No.’”
Her husband Mason was already out the door.
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“We had seen the video from a couple of weeks ago of the person that ran up on the porch and grabbed the item right in front of the FedEx person,” Mason Landrum said. “It reminded me immediately of that, and I felt like I knew that was what was going to happen. I kind of came right out the door and was yelling at him to stop and to drop it and things like that, and just continued to chase after him. Since I was chasing him, was so close behind, he just kind of, he ran up to the car, but then kind of around it and continued on down the street.”
The chase went down the block a few houses before Mason said the thief darted between two houses and toward the back of the Kenny Centre.
“It felt so violating that when I saw it was going to happen to me, it was just instinct to chase after him because I felt like this person needs to be stopped,” Mason Landrum said. “My wife disagrees with me, that she thinks that probably I shouldn’t have chased after him.”
“If I had been wearing tennis shoes, I think I actually could’ve caught him before he made it to his car, but I was actually wearing sandals, which are pretty hard to run in. But still we were close enough that we scared him away from getting in his car,” he said when asked how close he was to the thief while chasing him.
Mason returned to his home and called the police, who he said showed up within minutes. The getaway car, a black 2017 Honda Civic, was still running.
“We noticed that it didn’t have a license plate or any other identifying information,” Mason Landrum said. “Until the police showed up, and they discovered that there was a slide, almost like a little curtain that he had pulled across the license plate. He was ready for this. He was prepared.”
Police found the car had its VIN number and license plate covered. The report obtained from Columbus Police shows they identified the person who the vehicle was registered to. That person was listed as a “prior person of interest,” according to the report.
Police also found an unwrapped brand-new iPhone in the vehicle.
The previous theft on June 3 was of an Apple Watch. This time, it was an Apple iPad.
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The Landrums were left wondering how a thief might know what kind of package it is that they were stealing. The Landrums said they had multiple packages delivered by FedEx earlier that day and this week, none of them were stolen.
“Electronics, iPhones, iPads, Apple watches, those sorts of items are being stolen off porches before the person can even get to the door to get them,” Mary Landrum said. “Somehow, I’m not sure how, it seems like the thief knows what’s being dropped off.”
The Landrums noted that this was easily the most expensive item they had delivered. They do have two surveillance cameras in the front of their home. They had recently lapsed on their Cloud account, so the cameras were not operating during the theft. Mason said he re-subscribed to the Cloud video service an hour after the theft, but said the company could not access any footage from during the theft.
In the future, the Landrums said they will select the “sign for package” option, especially when ordering something expensive. Other options for people concerned of porch theft are selecting a FedEx, USPS, UPS, or other delivery service location to pick up from.
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“It feels very violating that someone could just walk up to my door and take something that’s not theirs, but, yeah, definitely frightening and a sense of violation,” Mary Landrum said.
Police have not said if they have a suspect in this theft or in the June 3 theft. It’s unclear if they are connected, but the thefts took place only three and a half miles apart, during a similar time of day.
The Landrums said after seeing the thief face to face, it could be the same man they saw in the initial doorbell camera video from June 3.
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