Home Security Cameras Help Police Catch West Jordan Porch Pirates
Dec 25, 2019, 9:51 PM | Updated: 10:25 pm
WEST JORDAN, Utah – Porch pirates have preyed upon plenty of Utahns this holiday season with packages rarely being recovered and returned. But one West Jordan family got its delivery back just in time for Christmas.
Kris and Stephanie Jacobsen were out to dinner with their family Monday night when Kris’s phone buzzed.
“During dinner, I could feel my phone going off,” he said. “But I didn’t want to bring my phone out.”
Earlier, a text had alerted him that a package for his wife had arrived. So, when they got home, Kris wanted to get to the front door first.
“When I walked up, I couldn’t see anything anywhere,” he said.
That’s when he looked at this surveillance video and shared it with his wife.
“I felt violated and I felt shocked that somebody would come up and take something,” Kris said.
He said he even worse when he saw who had taken the package.
“When I saw it was a little girl…I was like, man what in the world is going on? Why would somebody teach their child that’s OK to do?” Kris asked.
The thief in the red coat on the surveillance video appeared to be a girl.
“The little girl is running out and comes across on the sidewalk,” Stephanie said while showing KSL’s Jed Boal the surveillance video.
The Jacobsens think she ducked in next to the house to avoid the porch camera. But, even though the female on camera was able to avoid being captured by the camera on the porch, a camera in the driveway got a clear shot of their license plate.
Police traced the car to 42-year-old Cody Dalton and saw the packages inside. Dalton told officers what he had done and was arrested.
“Surprised that they got it that soon,” Stephanie said.
Police returned the package to the Jacobsen’s home at 3 a.m. the next morning, less than six hours after it had been stolen.
“Felt sorry for the little girl,” Stephanie said.
Even though the person on camera looks like a child, police couldn’t confirm her age. They think she could be Dalton‘s wife and said she is still a suspect in this case.
But the Jacobsens’ case did help police solve at least one other package theft because their camera captured the license plate.
“That helped link them to other things that were missing,” Stephanie said.
They just installed the security system last summer and Kris said he was grateful they did.
