ARLINGTON, Va. (WUSA9) -- The Arlington County Police Department has arrested a holiday grinch for stealing numerous packages from the front doorsteps of residences.
Keith Moore, of District Heights, Md. and Washington, D.C., was arrested Monday after undercover, plain-clothes officers observed him in the 1100 block of North Vermont St. in Ballston, Va., where police say he was acting suspiciously. They eventually saw Moore opening packages he took from doorsteps and removing the contents.
It is believed that Moore, 22, is responsible for at least 40 thefts of packages over the last several months, according to police.
"Most of these larcenies are ooccurring when people are at work, when the packages are left unattended, so it's a crime of convenience for them," Lieutenant Kip Malcom from the Arlington County Police Department said.
Matthew Lenco lives in one of the communities Moore stole packages from. Lenco explained that the package thefts caused confusion in the community: "People are just very frustrated because they're expecting a package, maybe something of decent value, it doesn't show up, you contact the post office, thinking this was sent to the local post office and they say they delivered it."
Emails between homeowners in the area show further confusion, with one asking: "Is anyone experiencing mail delivery issues? Not sure if we have a new mail carrier... we haven't received mail several days in a row."
Another resident was more certain about what happened. "I had three packages stolen off my doorstep," one man wrote.
Moore has been charged with two counts of grand larceny, four counts of petit larceny, credit card theft, credit card fraud, and identity theft. Additional charges are pending, police said. Moore was denied bond and is currently being held in the Arlington County Detention Facility.
The Arlington County Police Department is encouraging residents, who believe that they have had packages stolen, to file a report either by calling the Emergency Communications Center non-emergency line at 703.558.2222 or file a report online at http://police.arlingtonva.us.
If you plan on having a valuable package delivered, police advise signing for your deliveries, coordinating with a neighbor or a friend to have them receive the package, or have it delivered to a distribution center where you can pick it up.
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