KEY POINTS

  • Two women dressed like nurses allegedly seen stealing packages off front porches
  • One homeowner says the suspects acted very fast
  • Police authorities have already posted on Facebook screengrabs from the security camera

Security cameras captured the illegal acts of two women wearing nurse’s attires allegedly swiping packages from front porches in East Washington. Photos of the women who look like nurses complete with scrubs, rubber gloves, and what looked like identification cards on lanyards, were posted by the Kennewick Police Department on Facebook.

coronavirus crisis being used by other people to do illegal acts like dressing as nurses and stealing packages off porches
coronavirus crisis being used by other people to do illegal acts like dressing as nurses and stealing packages off porches Element5 Digital - Pexels

Only A Few Minutes After Drop Off

In an interview with CNN, homeowner Michelle Santiago said she was out working when the package was delivered to their home. When she arrived from work, she pulled up the videos of their home security system like she normally does. Santiago revealed one video showing the FedEx driver dropping the package off at approximately 3 p.m. that afternoon and a woman in nurse’s attire walking up and taking it away. Santiago said there was only a 5-minute difference between the drop-off and swiping.

According to Santiago, the package contained a customized organizer for the police equipment of her husband. The distraught homeowner shared the video with her neighbors and found that similar swiping also happened to others.

Front Porch Pirates

Santiago told CNN that even if they had been home, she would not have gone out fast enough to retrieve the package. “She literally grabbed the package minutes after it was dropped,” Santiago said. Ironically, Santiago is herself a nurse, and she said that even if she is in terrible need of something, she would never do what the porch pirates did.

Police authorities shared the images Saturday in the hopes that the community can help identify the perpetrators. According to the Kennewick Police Department, they do not believe the women are real nurses. In a statement they posted on Facebook, the police said: “The nurses we are fortunate to know only give their time, lives, and take the vitals of their patients (not their property).”

Identifying The Suspects

A spokesperson for the Kennewick Police Department told USA Today on Sunday they already have identified multiple possible suspects. They have not, however, made any arrests yet as of posting. According to Sgt. Todd Dronen, it is a bit tricky when they start receiving different names with photos of people that do not match with the images captured by CCTV that they already have on file.

Although the FBI is not continuously recording nationwide statistics on package theft, a 2019 survey shows that 30% of Americans say they have experienced it also. The survey of the crime, which is also called porch piracy, was conducted by Xfinity Home, the home security service of Comcast.

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