Despite the fact that nearly everyone has at least one camera pointed at their porch nowadays thanks to security systems and products like Ring, it seems like one Lakewood package thief has become the talk of the neighborhood for her chutzpah.
In the neighborhood’s Facebook group, which is curated by Realtor Kimberly Sinnott and her restaurateur husband Bob (who co-owns Toasted), the woman’s exploits have been posted regularly — first on a daily basis, it seemed, but now almost on an hourly basis.
How bold is she? Just ask Nicole McBee, who has been hit four times.
“In total, I have been hit four times, with three of those being in the last month — including today’s ‘special’ package,” she told me. More on that special package in a minute.
“I had Christmas decorations taken in December,” McBee recounted. “Then I watched out the window this past Saturday night as two packages were stolen off my porch on Saturday.”
Each time, her Ring doorbell showed her the same woman. Saturday’s theft gave her the opportunity to see the car the woman was driving, too.
“My Ring doorbell is behind a wall a does not capture street traffic,” she explained. “When I noticed several posts with the same car yesterday, that is when I got vigilante about posting and making everyone aware.”
“I was watching all the videos on the Ring and NextDoor apps, taking screenshots of her face, her car and even listening for the cadence of the car driving off and comparing to videos where it wasn’t visible. I was a maniac on a mission,” she added.
After the woman stole a package containing dog food this weekend, McBee decided enough was enough. She loaded up a box with some of her pooch’s poop, taped it up, and left it on the doorstep as bait.
And lo and behold, Tuesday the woman came back for a fourth time to snatch that box, too.
“I hope the dog poop surprise deters her from coming back, but sadly, watching all these videos in the neighborhood, she’s not the only one,” McBee said. “But for now, I feel a little better. She stole my dogs’ food on Saturday. They left her a ‘Thank You’ on Tuesday.”
Tuesday, the litany of neighbors continued. One shared pictures of the thief and her car after she took an Amazon package, sharing that the car had no license plate.
Another neighbor was able to get photos of the woman’s face and vehicle as well. McBee and her neighbors have been sharing all of their Ring photos them in hopes that people recognize the woman and are able to call police when they find her in the neighborhood. They’ve also been in contact with an officer who lives in the neighborhood.
Shippers like UPS and FedEx recommend signing up for services that alert you when something is out for delivery. Amazon offers locker service so you can have packages delivered securely. Ring also outlines several steps people can take to avoid package theft, including requiring a signature for deliveries or getting a lockbox for your porch.
Like anyone who has something stolen from them, McBee is both irritated and saddened, but also a bit philosophical. After all, you should able to order something and have it delivered without worrying someone is going to come snatch it before you can even open the front door.
“It’s not so much anger as it is a feeling of violation,” she said. “Nothing of any real value has been taken, so I might feel differently otherwise.”
“I want her to get caught and to be held accountable for her behavior,” McBee said. “Who’s to say what that is. If it’s a mental illness, she needs help. If she’s just a grinch, then she needs a boot up the a**.”
“Either way, what’s she’s doing is wrong.”
Additional photos of the vehicle and woman are below. Police recommend calling 911 to report any package theft so they can begin tracking trends, and if you see this woman, call to report the sighting.
