Most thieves don’t leave gifts for their victims; however, we saw just that Friday afternoon.

On February 23rd at approximately 2:07 p.m. Deputy C.S. Harding responded to Mulberry Lane for a larceny. The caller advised he was a victim of porch piracy. At 11:10 a.m. his package is delivered by FedEx, only to be stolen a while later by a male suspect. Instead of a snatch and grab, the suspect places a different box on the victim’s front porch before taking the original package. The suspect then flees in a black Honda. Within the left behind box were the makings of a romantic night, bath items and a candle. It wouldn’t be until later into the day would deputies discover what happened to the original package.

At approximately 3:49 p.m. Deputy R.W. Stamm also responded to a larceny, this time on Berkshire Drive. The victim advised her package was stolen and replaced by an unknown one. Camera footage showed the same suspect from the previous larceny come to her residence for the switcheroo. The unknown package was discovered to be the package stolen from the previous larceny. While the first victim received his stolen package back, the second victim has not.

The switching porch pirate was described as a black male wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, blue vest, jeans, and white shoes. If you have any information on the switching swindler, please contact the Sheriff’s Office.