VIDEO: Woman Leaves Dog Poop for Package Thief
(Updated at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday) A 9th Street NE resident fed up with having packages stolen from her front step left a box full of dog poop outside for a thief to discover — and videotaped what happened.
Andrea Hutzler, 33, trained a camera on the front step of her home near K Street NE after she had three packages stolen in two months. Thieves took Christmas gifts, clothing and even three 6-foot aluminum poles she planned to use in remodeling. The federal employee estimates that $858 worth of goods were taken from her home.
So, Hutzler got revenge yesterday (Monday) by putting out a “dummy” box full of poop from her two dogs.
“I feel happy,” she said. “I had wanted to put in a note, like ‘Surprise! Please stop stealing my crap.'”
Video put on YouTube and then shared by Popville shows a man walking up to a house, grabbing a package and quickly walking away. Unfortunately, it doesn’t show the man opening the box.
Police distributed video yesterday afternoon that shows a man swiping a package from an 8th Street NE home.
Ninth Street NE residents have repeatedly shared stories about package theft on a closed neighborhood listserv, resident Chuck Westover said. His family has had three packages stolen in the past nine months.
“The most recent was baby lotion. Before that, it was baby clothes. My mother-in-law sent a lot of packages and they all got stolen,” the labor union worker with a nine-month-old said. “It’s really frustrating.”
First District police warned locals late last month about package and mail theft, and advised residents to pick up all packages as soon as possible and pay for package tracking.
Hutzler said she hopes police can use the videos to catch the offender. In the meantime, she’s sending her packages to her friends’ houses.
Crime Solvers of Washington, DC currently offers a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in the District of Columbia. Your assistance is appreciated by your community.
Anyone who can identify these individuals or who has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s text tip line at 50411.
