SAN ANTONIO — A sushi order turned into a crime of opportunity for a food delivery driver in Alamo Ranch.
Ring camera footage captured the man trying to hide from the camera when helping himself to a neighbor's package on the way out.
KENS 5 is sharing this case ahead of a busy delivery day beginning Thursday.
John Kaczyk, a tenant at the Twin Creeks at Alamo Ranch apartment complex, opened his door Tuesday afternoon to an empty doormat. He had just received an e-mail confirming his package was delivered, including a picture of the box on his doorstep.
Confused, he checked his Ring camera, located at his front door.
"I saw the Amazon guy drop it off. Then I saw the DoorDash delivery guy deliver the food [across the hall]. Then I saw a little 'bump' if you will. So I rewound it and was like, wait a minute, that's somebody's head," Kaczyk explained.
Kaczyk thought, if his package was stolen, surely his neighbor could help.
Chris Woollen, who lives across the hall, was the one who got the DoorDash delivery around the same time Kaczyk's package arrived. Woollen's camera would have a clear shot of the action.
"It was almost comical out of a satire movie," said Woollen, describing seeing the security footage for the first time. "I thought he would at least cover his face or cover something. Nope!"
His Ring camera captured the DoorDash driver delivering his food, then swiping Kaczyk's package before walking away. As the man is taking the package, the camera shows him trying to duck down to avoid being caught. Little did he know, Woollen's camera caught the whole thing.
"I saw it and I immediately just showed everybody at work and everyone just started laughing," said Woollen, who also shared the video on Facebook. "This needs to hopefully go viral. Hopefully someone knows this guy and embarrasses him or something."
"The way he was contorted, he did all of this for a $12 boot jack and I don't think he wears cowboy boots," Kaczyk added. "It was kind of funny."
Woollen filed a report with DoorDash and the food delivery company was quick to respond, saying they've removed the driver from the platform. DoorDash confirmed with KENS 5 that they've deactivated the driver's account, preventing him from making any future deliveries with the company.
KENS 5 is blurring the man's face in the surveillance videos because DoorDash knows who he is.
In a statement to KENS 5, a spokesperson for DoorDash said, "A word of advice to would-be porch pirates: doorbell cameras are watching, and they don’t lie. We have zero tolerance for theft and this Dasher account has been deactivated. We are reaching out to the person whose package was stolen to offer support."
This case is timely, as millions of packages will begin to grace doorsteps Thursday, delivering Amazon Prime Day deals. For porch pirates, the occasion also presents a "prime" opportunity.
To keep your package safe, Amazon offers safety tips that include:
- Tracking the package in real time
- Specifying a hidden drop-off location
- Selecting a designated delivery day
- Shipping to an alternate delivery location, like an Amazon locker
To look up an Amazon locker near you, click here.
Analysts with Security.org expect a 40% increase in package theft cases following Prime Day, which equals roughly 2.4 million incidents per day during the sales event.
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