CHICAGO — A Pilsen resident is warning neighbors of a thief she caught on camera Wednesday morning and is suspected of stealing packages in the neighborhood.
“I know it happens all the time but I want people to know about it so they can keep an eye out,” the Pilsen resident said.
The brazen grab-and-go happened on Wednesday along 17th and Halsted Street.
“My husband was looking through all the videos that we recorded throughout our building and found that the guy stole some packages off of our front stoop.”
Similar activity was also captured on video by people living behind her on 17th Street the very same day.
“My neighbors scared somebody off the back patio, on the steps of our back patio, when she let her dog out and the guy took off and went running.”
The Pilsen resident and her neighbors believe it’s one alleged thief behind this crime and they’re banding together to find out who the person is.
“We’ve had about 4-5 cameras involved where we got angles of the guy,” the Pilsen resident said. “He got on his bike and he took off. And it’s the same bike that we saw in different videos that he’s either biking slowly or he’s taking off quickly.”
According to a District 12 crime report, there have been 426 thefts this year. At least 32 have been reported between March 13-19.
25th Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez is well aware of the reoccurring issue and the incident on 17th Street.
“I think what is critical here is the root cause of all these issues is poverty and unemployment,” Alderman Sigcho-Lopez said.
While this Pilsen resident may not get her stolen package back, she hopes the person who did it stopped.
“It’s a bit of a pain that someone is going around stealing your stuff,” the Pilsen resident said. “If we can at least scare this guy off I’d rather have that happened.”
The Pilsen resident said while she has filed a police report, she would like to see more police presence in the area.
The Chicago Police Department has several tips to protect packages from being stolen at home. For more information, click here.
