Bandit hits doorways in Brooklyn
A Brooklyn bandit carried a large box cutter — and a heart two sizes too small.
The brazen Bay Ridge Grinch was caught by a lobby security camera stacking stolen Christmas gifts into a shopping cart last week after casually cutting open the recently delivered packages.
The 91-second video showed the fearless criminal pushing his cart through the building with a mask of some sort obscuring his face. A building resident said the illegal shopping spree went on for a leisurely 15 minutes before the crook headed out with plenty of illegal shopping days ahead.
The suspect was dressed in black, with a dark hoodie and a fur-trimmed winter jacket. The only building resident to address the thief made no comment about the robbery — just one about building security.
“You left the door open,” a passing male voice declares as the man goes about his crooked business.
The explosion of “porch pirates” targeting gifts delivered by Amazon and other businesses is now an epidemic, with one survey suggesting that more than 25 million Americans have lost a holiday gift to thieves.
According to the Shorr packaging company survey, New York doesn’t rank among the worst cities for such thefts — coming in at No. 23, tucked between San Diego (22) and Houston (24).
The West Coast didn’t fare as well, with Seattle and San Francisco sitting in the top two spots.
Across the Hudson River in Jersey City, local cops teamed up with Amazon this December in a crackdown on the alfresco shoplifting.
Ring video doorbells were used, along with “dummy” boxes holding GPS devices. Once put into use, it took exactly eight minutes for the first arrest — with two other crooks busted in short order.
“This [Amazon/Jersey City Police Department] package partnership is working,” tweeted Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop. “We just arrested a package thief on Ogden Ave at my neighbor’s house! I said to the news . . . that someone stole my wife’s baby shower packages two weeks ago. This might be the guy. I want our stuff back.”
According to Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly, the locations for the police stings were chosen by mingling city crime states with Amazon’s mapping of theft locations.
An Amazon spokesman, without going into any specifics or the global company’s role, offered a round of applause to the police.
“We appreciate the increased effort by law enforcement to tackle package theft and remain committed to assisting however we can,” said the spokesman.