Two charged in package thefts
Published 9:19 pm Monday, December 23, 2019
Suffolk Police have made two arrests stemming from package thefts from porches in the Lakeside neighborhood last week.
Karessa Louise-Brandii Cordon, 19, and Dion Markell Sawyer, 21, both of Suffolk, are each charged with three counts of grand larceny and one count of petit larceny. Sawyer also has an additional count of grand larceny.
City spokesman Tim Kelley stated in an email Monday that the charges are related to three incidents of packages being stolen off porches on Thursday in the Lakeside area. He said the incident locations were in the 900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, 200 block of South Broad Street and 900 block of Virginia Avenue.
A Ring doorbell video from Casey Downey’s residence on South Broad Street showed a woman with long hair strolling up to his porch and taking a box. It turned out include a laptop for Downey’s business, Clean Cut Image Lawn and Landscape.
In the video, a neighbor can be heard yelling at the thief. Downey also said the delivery was supposed to happen Friday, while he was home, and the driver was supposed to get a signature, neither of which came through.
Although they don’t always work, here are some tips to help prevent package theft from safety.com:
Install outdoor security cameras or video doorbells, and make sure they’re functional, highly visible and clearly pointed at the package drop-off area.
Get a home security system, or at least post signs saying you have one.
Get a package lockbox for your porch.
Have your packages delivered elsewhere, such as your place of employment, an Amazon delivery site or a neighbor who’s usually home.
Request that deliveries require a signature.
Subscribe to delivery alerts.
Keep the area around your front porch clear and visible.
Request nondescript packaging, so potential thieves can’t see figure out the item or the store it’s from.