Watertown police searching for alleged porch pirate who signed for a resident’s FedEx package

Watertown police are looking for a local porch pirate after a resident said a man signed for her FedEx package and quickly made off with the box.

Lela Glikes told WBZ News she saw a man follow a FedEx truck to her home on Emerson Road, park his vehicle and then walk up to her house as if he lived there. The man then allegedly walked over to the FedEx truck and signed for her package containing a $400 internet hotspot.

Gilkes said she yelled to the FedEx driver that the man didn’t live there and the package didn’t belong to him, but it was too late.

“The FedEx driver and I were like shocked and went to stop him and he was going so fast. We thought he was going to run us over,” she told WBZ.

In a separate incident on Purvis Street, a home security camera captured a man dressed as a delivery driver swiping another package. Resident Ben Davini told WCVB said the package contained a new cell phone, and FedEx had dropped it off just minutes earlier.

“He was just following the FedEx truck and I think they’re looking for boxes that hold an iPhone or an iPad or something like that. So it’s easy to get up, steal it and get out of there really quickly,” Davini told the news agency.

The thefts are part of a series of similar incidents in recent weeks. The victims told WBZ the suspect drives a blue minivan with temporary New Jersey plates.

Watertown police are investigating the case.

“Over the past several days, we have received reports of four package thefts from residential properties,” Watertown police wrote in one Facebook posts on Friday. “Unfortunately, package theft is not uncommon and it is a widespread problem that extends far beyond Watertown. Our investigators are actively investigating and we have no other information to report at this time.”

Police asked that anyone who experiences package theft or has any information that could help with their investigation to contact Det. Sgt. Lewis at [email protected].