Orange County deputies arrested two people they say stole packages from several neighborhood homes.
- 2 teens arrested in Orange County package thefts
- Suspects accused of stealing packages from at least a dozen homes
- Deputies say neighbors can help stop package thieves
Investigators say 18-year-old Alexander Reyes and a 15-year-old boy took packages from the doorsteps of at least a dozen homes in the Moss Park Landing subdivision. That's near the Lake Nona area.
A neighbor gave deputies a detailed description of the suspects and their vehicle, which helped lead to their arrests.
Deputies say there's been a rash of mail thefts in Central Florida recently and neighbors can help stop it.
"We can patrol 24/7, but at the same time, we're obvious. The citizens of Orange County are not obvious," said Cpl. Abby Horsley with the sheriff's office. "So, if you're in your home, you see a suspicious vehicle, if you could snap a quick picture of it, or anything like that, or if you see somebody stealing parcels off somebody else's porch, obviously these are things we want to know about."
In this case, deputies say they were able to return a lot of the stolen packages to the victims.
Mail thieves increase this time of year as more people do their holiday shopping online. A recent survey on the community social networking site NextDoor shows 42 percent of neighbors have experienced package theft. Nearly half of those had multiple packages stolen.
NextDoor suggests forming a virtual neighborhood watch, so neighbors can alert each other when packages are stolen, and also find people to help hold arriving packages until the receiver gets home.
There are only a few shipping days left before Christmas, but below you can find tips to help keep your packages secure, and also find out what to do if you are a victim of mail theft.