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The Hoquiam Police Department posted on social media (no press release sent out) that they nabbed a porch pirate on Friday with the help of a nearby ring video camera video that had caught a picture of the suspect. Some of the items stolen included theft of a victims critical medical supplies.
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Here is that story, according to the Social Media Post -
On Friday, April 17, 2020 at 1342 hours, Hoquiam officers were dispatched to the 900 block of Maple Street for a suspicious male who was observed taking packages off the front steps of a nearby residence.
The male was last observed walking over toward the 500 block of West Emerson. Officers checked the area and could not locate the subject- or where the packages may have been nabbed.
A neighbor in the area provided a Ring surveillance photo of the suspect, with packages in arm, walking past their residence.
About 40 minutes later, officers received another report of the same suspect now walking the other direction carrying a white plastic bag. Officer Luce detained the man and discovered the bag contained several boxes of new medical supplies.
The medical supplies were not contained in a shipping box. In talking to the suspect, a 20-year old Hoquiam man, he admitted to stealing two packages off a nearby porch.
The suspect indicated he had no idea what he was taking until he removed the medical supplies from the two shipping boxes. He admitted to having drug problem and intended to resell whatever he found in the boxes just to get some money.
Officer Luce located the discarded shipping boxes hidden in an alley and traced the theft back to a residence on O Street.
With the suspect already in custody, the victim on O Street contacted the police department to report the theft of his critical medical supplies. As the items were unopened, they were returned to the victim.
The suspect was charged with theft in the third degree into municipal court.
The theft of delivered packages has become a common problem all across the country. If you have an expected package which does not arrive as scheduled, contact the shipper as soon as possible and report it to the police.