(WSVN) - A porch pirate is hitting up homes in several Broward communities, and one man is doing a little detective work to get this crook caught. 7’s Karen Hensel investigates.
A Ring camera in Sunrise catches a thief swiping a pricey piece of equipment from Kyle Branston’s driveway.
Kyle Branston, theft victim: “Here this guy is, 10:45 in the morning, pulls up in the driveway, walks out in broad daylight, grabs this generator with one arm, and puts it in his Volkswagen Jetta.”
7News first aired Kyle’s story in June, right after his $1300 generator was stolen.
Nearly six months later, the thief is still a busy bandit, but now thanks to videos from Ring cameras and a little detective work, Kyle is trying to get this crook caught.
Kyle Branston: “So I’m on this app, and all of a sudden people start posting things about their packages being stolen off their front porch.”
He showed us how he is trying to identify the thief with the help of the Ring camera app.
Kyle Branston: “So it’s part of Ring, and then they have this section called Neighbors.”
That is where he found videos posted by other homeowners.
Kyle Branston: “I ended up getting in touch with a bunch of different people that had had stuff stolen, and it was the same guy.”
Here the thief is wearing a mask as he walks off with packages.
In this video he is busy on the phone as he walks up to grab a load of packages from another home.
Then there is this one where he uses a decoy package and appears to have gotten a bit savvier.
Kyle Branston: “He’s now wearing a vest. He walks up with a package, takes a picture, like, you know, he’s dropping your Amazon package off and grabs their package and walks away with it.”
He is also wearing a bright yellow vest during this grab.
Kyle Branston: “Tell me this guy doesn’t look — the same demeanor, same like how he walks, his movements.”
The Sunrise Police Department tells 7 Investigates their detective also believes it is the same person.
In another case, a man made off with a package containing a graduation cap and gown and took off in a silver vehicle.
Videos show two different silver or gray getaway cars, including this Volkswagen Jetta.
Kyle Branston: “Honestly, it boils my blood. I’m hoping he gets arrested and put in jail.”
He is not the only one.
The victim who lives here wrote us, “He is trying to impersonate a delivery person, but he blatantly steals.”
She wants him caught, to “stop his rampage in our neighborhood.”
Kyle Branston: “Multiple police reports, different agencies.”
Sunrise, BSO, Lauderhill and Plantation Police have all taken theft reports.
Kyle says with holiday deliveries now in full swing, it is time to finally catch this crook.
Kyle Branston: “Mid-December, Christmas is coming up. You know, the whole point of buying stuff online, so you can have it sent to your house.”
Take a look. If you notice anything familiar about this person, call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
Karen Hensel , 7News.
CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
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