Hampstead homeowner catches thieves stealing mail on security cameras
HAMPSTEAD, NC (WWAY) — We often hear about ‘porch pirates,’ or people who steal packages from someone else’s front door, but one community in Hampstead is dealing with a different kind of theft.
A resident captured video of mail being stolen.
At first, former Wilmington police officer James Conway did not notice anything wrong when he drove past a parked car in front of a driveway in his neighborhood, Dogwood Lakes in Hampstead. “I had actually passed the suspect but I didn’t realize it,” he recounted.
However, when he looked back at some of his security cameras, he got a clear picture of the thieves in action. The video showed Conway driving past a silver Ford Fusion. A man can be seen walking from house to house towards the car. Conway said, at the time, nothing seemed unusual.
He thought, “Maybe they’re just delivering, you know, Amazon or who knows what. It didn’t seem too crazy. Within ten minutes, not even, they had stolen the mail out of my mailbox and they essentially were following the mail truck.”
Continuing the video of Conway’s home, the mail truck can be seen driving up. Shortly after, the Fusion can be spotted driving past and turning around. Someone takes the mail and then drives off.
Surf City Police Chief Phillip Voorhees said stolen mail can lead to a serious issue for the victims. “Most of the time when mail is stolen, it’s tied back to identity theft,” he warned. “Thieves are looking for credit cards, bank statements, checks, [or] anything that they can steal your identity to further financial gain for themselves.”
Conway says that staying vigilant and having good security can help protect you from similar incidents.
“There’s more onus placed on security now than there was ten or fifteen years [ago], but it still involves the individuals and families getting together and watching what they have going on to ensure they’re fully protected,” he advised.
Chief Voorhees said the investigation is still ongoing, and they have been in touch with the post office.
No one has been charged at this time.
