A Sacramento thief got creative in order to steal a package delivered to the front door of an unsuspecting resident.
Omar Gabriel Munoz said to video platform Storyful last month that he got a message of successful delivery for a package to his home but could not find the package in front of his house, USA Today reported. After getting confused he watched his doorbell camera to get some clues.
What he found was out of a comic book. A big black garbage bag next to his door grew legs and walked toward his package. The thief, crouching inside the garbage bag was waiting in Mr. Munoz’s yard and snatched the package. He or she then continued walking, without discarding the disguise, with small steps, toward the road, and left the camera’s scope.
The video was given to the video licensing platform Storyful, which was posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“At first I was kinda angry but when I saw the video again I was laughing because people [these] days have a lot of creativity,” Mr. Munoz told KXTV-TV.
Mr. Munoz said he would not report the theft to the police, as they “have more important things to do.”
California is facing a big problem with thieves, a problem affecting the state that is causing some businesses to flee.
State lawmakers proposed Assembly Bill 2943 in February that would strengthen penalties for repeat offenders and for those profiting from such crimes.
The new law targets the possession of stolen goods and also the would-be resellers, aiming at the possession of stolen goods in quantities bigger than for personal use.
Los Angeles saw an 80 percent rise in shoplifting in 2023 alone, according to police statistics. This pushed lawmakers to introduce some related legislation.
“Retail crime is an emotional issue for many of our residents. Business owners fear for their livelihoods, workers fear for their well-being, and members of the public worry that it may no longer be safe to frequent their neighborhood stores,” assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur said.
California is also ranked among the top ten states for car theft per capita, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an Illinois-based non-profit.
The Golden State reported the most vehicle thefts in 2022 (203,018). Texas had the second-highest number (105,133), followed by Washington state (46,990), Florida (46,020), and Colorado (42,706).
Although California reported the most vehicles stolen, the state ranked sixth highest in car thefts per capita, with a rate of 520 per 100,000 people.
The ten states with the most vehicle thefts in 2022 were, in declining order, Colorado, Washington D.C., Washington state, Oregon, New Mexico, California, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, and Tennessee.
California law states that stealing merchandise worth $950 or less is just a misdemeanor, which lessens law enforcement’s resolve to pursue, and even if arrests are made, prosecutors just let the thieves go, according to the Hoover Institution.
Store managers usually instruct their staff not to defend the store during an incident, because of the danger of harm or death for the staff and customers.
Jill McLaughlin contributed to this report.
