On 26 December, I was working.. I took several frantic calls from my son Alex, inquiring as to how to track USPS shipments. It seemed he had bought a few text books on Amazon.com and per USPS, they were delivered at 12:20 (or so) that day, but he couldn't find them in the mailbox or near the front door.
I arrive home and calmed him, indicating that it was probable a neighbor had the packages in error. Just for fun, we checked the security cameras. Sure enough, at ~12:20, USPS walks the packages to the front door and departs. 2 hours later, a white Ford F150 is seen pulling into my driveway and the packages disappear. Literally 2 minutes later, Alex and his friend step out the front door to check again, but are disappointed the packages are "still not there".
Just for fun, I send a one sentence email to KUTV indicating ("Be on the lookout, describing how our packages were heisted). A few hours later, I get a phone call from KUTV asking if they can come right over. An hour later, FOX13 calls and does the same.
KUTV's coverage is found here:
Saturday, December 28 2013, 01:49 AM MST
S. Jordan Homeowner Captures Pictures Of Package Theft
(KUTV) A South Jordan neighborhood watch block captain captured pictures on his surveillance system of a truck trolling his neighborhood and pulling into his driveway before his post office deliveries were snatched from his doorstep on Thursday.
"This is my house. Don't come to my house and do something like that," said Jim King. "This doesn't happen here."
King had set up five network-based surveillance cameras on his house after a flag was taken right off the pole in his front yard a few years ago.
"I was on the hunt at that point," King said. "I wanted to catch whoever would dare come to my front lawn and take an American flag off of my property."
Just hours after the U.S. Postal Service delivered Jim King's son's college math textbooks on Thursday afternoon, a white truck pulls up to his house, the pictures show.
"Shortly thereafter, I could see the white Ford F-150 pulling into my driveway, and the packages were gone seconds after that," King said. "He bought those books with his own money and they weren't inexpensive. Textbooks these days are pretty pricy."
King's motion-triggered surveillance cameras only snapped 20-25 photos of the incident; the crook stayed in the truck long enough that the cameras didn't capture the actual theft, only the moments leading up to it. King, therefore, doesn't have a picture of the suspect's face or body type.
King and his son, Alex, filed a report with South Jordan police, who said another delivery theft occurred on the same day just a few minutes away. A homeowner near 10,000 South 4700 West opened the door to catch an Hispanic man taking off with his two packages in a white Toyota passenger vehicle, according to Lt. Rob Hansen.
"I was given a perception from the postal service when I called them, you know, 'Jeez not another one,'" King said.
UPS and FedEx have been scrambling to deliver late Christmas packages because of bad weather and overloaded electronic systems.
On Friday morning, King set up a decoy package and left it on his doorstep. He doubts the thief realized books were in Thursday's packages, but he's sure the criminal wouldn't like what's inside the box this time.
"I have a used Amazon box. It's got remnants from my garbage including last night's whole chicken remains and some dog material from my backyard and various other garbage that I decided to put in there," King said. "I'm hopeful this person's not quite bright enough and decides to make another appearance today."
King has changed the settings on his surveillance system to capture more photos at once.
"I'm hopeful that this person decides to follow UPS or FedEx or USPS again and decides to make another run through my neighborhood, sees the package and makes an appearance, because I'll be home this time," King said.
The textbooks cost Alex, who is attending Salt Lake Community College, between $100 and $200. He will receive a refund for the cost of one of the two books.
By: Christine McCarthy
"This is my house. Don't come to my house and do something like that," said Jim King. "This doesn't happen here."
King had set up five network-based surveillance cameras on his house after a flag was taken right off the pole in his front yard a few years ago.
"I was on the hunt at that point," King said. "I wanted to catch whoever would dare come to my front lawn and take an American flag off of my property."
Just hours after the U.S. Postal Service delivered Jim King's son's college math textbooks on Thursday afternoon, a white truck pulls up to his house, the pictures show.
"Shortly thereafter, I could see the white Ford F-150 pulling into my driveway, and the packages were gone seconds after that," King said. "He bought those books with his own money and they weren't inexpensive. Textbooks these days are pretty pricy."
King's motion-triggered surveillance cameras only snapped 20-25 photos of the incident; the crook stayed in the truck long enough that the cameras didn't capture the actual theft, only the moments leading up to it. King, therefore, doesn't have a picture of the suspect's face or body type.
King and his son, Alex, filed a report with South Jordan police, who said another delivery theft occurred on the same day just a few minutes away. A homeowner near 10,000 South 4700 West opened the door to catch an Hispanic man taking off with his two packages in a white Toyota passenger vehicle, according to Lt. Rob Hansen.
"I was given a perception from the postal service when I called them, you know, 'Jeez not another one,'" King said.
UPS and FedEx have been scrambling to deliver late Christmas packages because of bad weather and overloaded electronic systems.
On Friday morning, King set up a decoy package and left it on his doorstep. He doubts the thief realized books were in Thursday's packages, but he's sure the criminal wouldn't like what's inside the box this time.
"I have a used Amazon box. It's got remnants from my garbage including last night's whole chicken remains and some dog material from my backyard and various other garbage that I decided to put in there," King said. "I'm hopeful this person's not quite bright enough and decides to make another appearance today."
King has changed the settings on his surveillance system to capture more photos at once.
"I'm hopeful that this person decides to follow UPS or FedEx or USPS again and decides to make another run through my neighborhood, sees the package and makes an appearance, because I'll be home this time," King said.
The textbooks cost Alex, who is attending Salt Lake Community College, between $100 and $200. He will receive a refund for the cost of one of the two books.
By: Christine McCarthy
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Unfortunately, even though we staged a decoy package in the hope the perp would return, KUTV remained outside our home until at least 7pm, making it pointless.
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